Moon Mage
by HesperideIsis
Summary: Trafalgar Law is a Pirate Captain with a penchant for cruelty and a reputation for torture. No sane person wants to mess with him. Interestingly enough though, it seems he's met his match in his newest interest. Able to change her appearance with a thought and mess with Law's mind like no one else ever has, Tsukuyomi is a challenging puzzle. And Law loves challenges. LawXOC
1. Boredom

**One Piece does not belong to me, people!**

**This story, like Wild Mage, will be told in snippets and the occasional chapter. Or maybe the snippets can count as chapters? Oh well. I update erratically y'all! Tsuki-chan is mine.**

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**Boredom **

This, Trafalgar Law decided, was completely, utterly boring. Sitting in front of a spoiled brat and listening to him go on and on about who knows what was not how he had thought he was going to spend his time on the Grand Line. To be frank, he was just a few moments away from grabbing his nodachi and slicing off the brat's throat.

Behind him, he felt Shachi shift a few steps and heard Penguin cover a yawn. Even Bepo, ever patient, seemed uncomfortable in his seat behind the Captain. He sympathized. It had only been a few weeks since they had entered the Grand Line and the Heart Pirates weren't really well known yet. Still, the crew had expected something exciting and adventurous. Certainly not _this_.

"….and then Father came charging in with our warriors and completely decimated them! Oh, it was awesome and…" completely oblivious to the Pirate Captain and his crew's growing ire and boredom, Enrique the Third, heir of the Rensick drug empire and spoiled brat extraordinary prattled on about the awesomeness of his father.

Really, the only reason Law was here in the first place was because of Enrique's wealth. As heir to the drug empire, he had an incredible amount of money and he was certain quite of a lot of it was here in his mansion. So, Law had tastefully flattered the arrogant brat when they had met and Enrique, his head inflated from the comments from the Pirate Captain, invited Law and his crew into his mansion. That left one small problem though. Enrique lived in a _big_ mansion. As in four stories. And Law had no idea where the treasure was. Which resulted in Enrique still alive, making a nuisance of himself, and the crushing boredom of all the pirates in the room.

The door swung open, thankfully cutting off the remainder of Enrique's words. Law inwardly thanked whoever it was that had interrupted the brat's rant, looked at the door, and promptly took back his words. No matter that she had unintentionally saved the pirates from another long boring rant, Enrique's maid and nurse, Petunia, was just not someone he could ever thank. Harboring a sickening fondness for her handsome, charming boy and incredibly fat, she was disgusting. No other word for it.

"Enrique! My strong boy! Are you hungry yet, my beloved?" she cooed, pushing a cart full – and it was full as in nearly toppling over – with sweets and chocolate milk. She smiled lovingly at Enrique who smiled back while secretly shooting a dark look at the pirates in her beloved's room over her shoulder.

Law resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Petunia also harbored a hatred for pirates and only endured the Heart Pirates because Enrique wanted to brag and show off. Apparently, she thought they were a bad influence on her princely son and would corrupt him given enough time. She had already interrupted three times under multiple pretenses. Everyone knew it was just so she could check on her darling though.

"Petunia! My sweet! You're so thoughtful!" Enrique quickly reached for a cake, one practically dripping with icing and some chocolate milk and downed them both. It was really no wonder the boy was so fat. Mouth full, he suddenly blinked and demanded, "Where's Butler?"

Petunia blinked and suddenly looked a bit nervous, which of course, immediately aroused Law's curiosity. Now that he thought about it, each time Petunia had come in, so had Enrique's butler – who just happened to be named Butler – and both of them had shot the pirates dirty looks and checked over the room as if they thought the pirates were setting up bombs inside the room. Although, now that he thought about it, that wasn't a bad idea.

"Petunia?" Enrique prompted. "Where's Butler?"

"I – Are you sure you want to talk about this in front of _them_, young master?" the nurse twisted her hands in her pink apron though her anxiety didn't stop the venomous tone of voice when she spoke of the pirates.

Enrique looked at his nurse in bafflement then glanced at the pirates. Law felt Shachi tense behind him along with Penguin. He could almost hear the two begging inside their heads for the brat to let them stay. Honestly, he wouldn't mind either. Some action would be nice.

"It'll be fine." Enrique dismissed the pirates from his concern with a shake of his hand and Law felt a spike of irritation he concealed masterfully. "Butler?"

Petunia hesitated but answered. "He's talking to a girl about that prisoner you tortured and killed last week."

In three seconds flat, Enrique's face went from arrogant and relaxed to white as paper and full of fear. It was really interesting, Law noted distractedly even as he tried to understand just what could make a heir to an infamous drug empire that frightened.

"Girl?" he all but squeaked. "I-wh-what did she look like?"

Petunia bit her fat lower lip. "Black hair. Really dark blue eyes. She wore all black." She replied.

Enrique looked like he was ready to faint. "Shoot! Petunia, quick, you have to get me out of here! If she gets to me, I'm dead!" He leapt out of his seat and grabbed his head with both hands, looking at his trustworthy nurse with desperate eyes. She would get him out of this mess, he was sure of it.

Who were they talking about, Law wondered. Enrique was terrified of whoever it was though, that was evident.

Suddenly Petunia's face and body language changed. She stopped biting her lips, stopped twisting her hands, and her face went blank. The love and adoration that always filled her nauseating pink eyes when she looked at Enrique vanished. She stared at him blankly and then a dark smirk, a smirk! lifted her lips.

Enrique blinked and looked up at his long-time nurse in confusion. "Petunia? Tuney?" He asked, reaching up to grab hold of her frilly pink sleeve.

Petunia stepped back, her smirk never leaving her face, leaving Enrique gaping at her. Now, this was interesting, Law thought from his seat. It was like Petunia was a completely different person. Strange. He would have thought she had bipolar or multiple-personality disorder but Enrique looked totally baffled by this turn of events. Surely, her master would have known if his nurse had disorders. So why was she acting this way? Unless….it wasn't Petunia at all?

"Sorry, Enrique." Petunia purred at her master. Walking forward, she sat on the edge of the desk, looking at him. "I'm afraid it's too late for that."

"Wha?" was all Enrique got out before Petunia started to change. Away went the fat, repulsive, adoring nurse he had known all his life. In a matter of seconds another woma- no lady stood in her place, as different from Petunia as day and night.

In contrast to Petunia's stringy blonde hair, this lady's hair was black, dark as midnight. Half of it up in an elegant chignon, the rest flowed over her shoulders in soft waves all the way to her hips. Her skin was flawless pale cream, not Petunia's blotchy red skin. Delicate, her features were that of the highest of aristocrats. Large eyes of dark blue, almost black stared into his contemptuously, not the adoring pink he had looked into before.

Tall and slender, a sophisticated black lace dress caressed a sweetly feminine and toned body. The dress ended an inch above her ankles to meet her two inch heels. She wore black lace gloves that went up to her elbows and dangling obsidian teardrop earrings.

She was the most beautiful female Enrique had ever seen and he was more petrified of her than he had even been of anyone else in his life. She was the avenging angel, the femme fetal, the mistress of death.

The dark angel smiled cruelly at him and before he could react, lunged across the desk. She grabbed his neck in one of her gloved hands and slammed his body on the desk with her sitting a few inches away from him, facing the pirates; her feet dangling off the desk. Enrique choked, gasped, and struggled for air, his hands rising to claw uselessly at the merciless hand cutting off his air supply.

Meanwhile, Law was excited and much happier than he had been minutes ago. This proved to be entertaining and god knew he needed something to entertain him after the boring, hellish hours he had gone through today. Plus, the mysterious girl seemed to have some sort of grudge against Enrique and this would be his revenge for making him listen to all those rants about his father. Considering the description that had nearly made Enrique faint earlier, this was the woman he was so frightened of. And wasn't it ironic that the woman who Enrique believed would kill him was the one who had told Enrique she was coming?

His theory about Petunia had been right it seemed. She had been someone utterly different. Heh. The would-be assassin masquerading as the entirely trustworthy nurse. It was a good move, Law acknowledged. No one would have dared to suspect Petunia. Though that bought up the question: how exactly had she changed her appearance? Was it a devil fruit? Then there was how she had moved. When she had assaulted Enrique, her movements had been lightning fast and she hadn't made a sound. She had immediately chocked him off before he could scream. An intelligent decision, considering the dozens of guards in the mansion who would doubtlessly have come running at the sound of a scuffle in their beloved master's room. But the efficiency of her actions faintly hinted at a tactical mind and the knowledge that this was most likely not the first time she had done something like this.

Next to Law, Bepo stared at the scene with wide eyes, unconsciously gripping his Captain's nodachi tighter. Behind them both, Shachi and Penguin gaped at the girl, their minds' trying to link the foul nurse to the utterly hot girl in front of them and failing miserably.

Said girl looked at her target for a long movement, a thoughtful expression on her face, completely ignoring his attempts to struggle. Then she turned to the Heart Pirates with that same expression on her face and spoke.

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	2. Tsukuyomi

**princessariellover876: Thank you, thank you for being the first one to review! Good to know you like my story!**

**One Piece is not owned by me! Tsuki-chan is mine! Remember it!  
**

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_Last time:_

_Next to Law, Bepo stared at the scene with wide eyes, unconsciously gripping his Captain's nodachi tighter. Behind them both, Shachi and Penguin gaped at the girl, their minds' trying to link the foul nurse to the utterly hot girl in front of them and failing miserably._

_Said girl looked at her target for a long movement, a thoughtful expression on her face, completely ignoring his attempts to struggle. Then she turned to the Heart Pirates with that same expression on her face and spoke._

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**Tsukuyomi**

"I," she said in a gentle, pure voice entirely at odds with her position, "have no ill-will towards you pirates. So, if you require something from Enrique or wish to leave, I would suggest you do what you need to right now."

Law looked at the lady with a sharp, calculative stare that would make most people flinch. She didn't react in the least. He smirked. "What exactly do you plan on doing, Miss?" he asked.

The lady's dark blue eyes looked into his own grey eyes for a few moments before she replied. He wondered what she saw, what she had been looking for.

"I need some information from dear Enrique here. And since I very much doubt he'll tell me willingly, I do believe I'll need to resort to some _drastic measures_." she said, the slight emphasizes on her words leaving no one in doubt as to what she meant by that. The Heart Pirates were no stranger to torture after all, not with their Captain.

"I'm going to need to put up a locking seal and a sound barrier. If you do something from Enrique, he won't be coherent after I'm done so it's best if you get it done now. If you don't wish to enjoy the show, you won't be able to leave after I've put up the locking seal. Do please decide quickly, though Law-san. I'm on a bit of a time limit."

"Is that so..." Law mused, not the least bit disturbed by the warning of incoming torture. His mind spun over her words. Locking seal. Sound barrier. It sounded like she had some impressive powers. It would probably be more entertaining if he stayed, he decided. He would get to watch more of the lady's unknown powers and he would get to watch Enrique being tortured. Then there was the mystery of how she knew his name when he was certain they had never met before. His crew had only recently entered the Grand Line. Law knew they weren't that well known yet.

His gaze flickered to his crewmates. Bepo watched both him and the lady with wide eyes, seeming a bit confused as to how the lady knew his Captain's name. Shachi was gaping at her in both surprise and admiration. Penguin was near drooling. Law resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his perverted mechanics.

He turned his gaze back on the lady, who hadn't moved or done anything since she had finished talking. She watched him calmly, those blue, blue eyes taking in his every movement, every twitch of his face. For all that she had said she was on a time limit, Law observed, she wasn't acting very impatient or anxious.

The Heart Pirate Captain smirked at her and settled himself more comfortably in his chair. "I think we'll stay and enjoy the show, Miss. Though we do need the location of where Enrique hid his treasure in this mansion."

She smiled angelically. "That won't be a problem." she stated confidently. "I know where the treasure is. I can lead you to it after I'm finished with Enrique here. Would that be alright?"

She was, Law thought, rather polite. Though, he had the feeling that her politeness was, like him, more to unnerve people and a habit, than it was sincere. "That would be fine. Your name, Miss?"

The lady looked amused. "I don't normally just give my name out to strangers, you know."

"Ah, but you know my name." he pointed out. "It would only be fair for me to know yours."

She laughed, a silver bell-like sound. "True, I suppose, though neither of us care much about fairness."

Well, that was certainly accurate. Although, he didn't actually know what her profession was, he doubted she was someone who followed the law. She was planning on torturing and then probably killing a noble after all.

For some moments she was silent, staring directly into his eyes. Law didn't flinch from her gaze, uncomfortable as her eyes made him. Those unending pools of darkest blue seemed to stare into his soul, breaking each and every defense he ever had.

"Very well." she gave in with an easy smile, not breaking the eye contact. "Most people call me Tsukuyomi, but you may call me Tsukiyo if you wish."

Underneath her hand, the surprisingly still conscious Enrique whimpered at the name but both of them ignored him though Law noted the action. He also noted that she hadn't actually told him her name. She had specifically said that that was what other people called her. For now, he would ignore it but he made a mental note to investigate this later on. If anything, Enrique had seemed to recognize her "name".

"Pleasure to meet you, Tsukiyo-ya." he said. "Why don't you put up that locking seal and sound barrier?"

Again, he caught a spark of amusement in her eyes. Strange considering he himself would have been irritated at the barely-concealed order and he was fairly certain, if nothing else, Tsukiyo was _powerful_. Maybe even more deadly than he was. She was...intriguing.

But she said, "Of course." and didn't refute his order though she was his equal. Yes, he mused even as she lifted her free hand and pointed her index and middle finger at the door. He would have fun unraveling this lady of contradictions.

A silver ball of light appeared around her fingers and was shot at the door. As he watched, when the light collided with the door, it formed itself into a small, complex circle. It was too small and complex for Law to make out all the details but he could see lots of lunar shapes in the circle. This power of hers probably had something to do with her "name" as Tsukuyomi and Tsukiyo both referred to the night and the moon.

"That would be the locking seal?" he asked, interested. He had never seen any power like this. Was it a devil fruit or was it something else?

"Yes," she confirmed simply. Lowering her hand to waist level, she held it in front of her, slightly cupped like she was holding something. This time, silver light gathered in the her palm. When it was the size of a golf ball, she shot it towards the ceiling with a casual flick of her wrist. Unlike the locking ward, when this light met the ceiling, it didn't form itself into a circle. No, this light began to spread with it met the ceiling, almost like a great deal of water when it's dumped on the floor. It spread across the ceiling in a layer of glimmering silver and then it began to spread to the walls. Law watched in fascination, restraining a chuckle when Shachi snapped out of his perverted trance to jump away from the wall with a "manly" squeal. Tsukiyo just smiled with indulgent amusement. Down the walls and then on to the floor the silver layer spread.

"Captain?" Penguin asked nervously, as he and Shachi eyed the spreading silver coming towards them warily.

"I trust this will not harm my crewmates, Tsukiyo-ya?" he said, turning his attention back on the lady still sitting casually on the desk, her hand on Enrique's throat.

"No." she stated. "This is just a sound barrier. It can not harm anyone directly."

Law heard what she didn't say. Indirectly, the sound barrier was lethal, if only because the screams in it would be unknown to the world. He smirked darkly in slight approval at her wording.

The silver layer spread across the floor, going underneath the feet of the pirate and not spreading up them, to Shachi and Penguin's relief. When the whole room was enclosed, the silver glimmered and then seemed to..fade slightly. Just enough that if you didn't look for it, you couldn't see it.

Tsukiyo smiled and turned to Enrique, ignoring the fear in his eyes. She shifted herself back a bit and then released Enrique's throat. Immediately, he coughed and began to suck in huge breathfuls of air. She waited patiently for him to get his breath back, sit up and turn his attention back to her. When he did, she smiled coldly and he shrank away from her.

"Now then, Enrique." she all but purred at her prey. "I do believe it's time for our...talk."

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	3. Vengence

**One Piece is not owned by me~~**

**Warning: torture and violence in this scene!**

**Lucy Jacob: Thanks for reviewing! Glad you like my story!**

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_Tsukiyo smiled and turned to Enrique, ignoring the fear in his eyes. She shifted herself back a bit and then released Enrique's throat. Immediately, he coughed and began to suck in huge breathfuls of air. She waited patiently for him to get his breath back, sit up and turn his attention back to her. When he did, she smiled coldly and he shrank away from her._

_"Now then, Enrique." she all but purred at her prey. "I do believe it's time for our...talk."_

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**Vengeance**

Predictably, Enrique let out a loud pitched scream. Using the table, he tried to push himself away from Tsukiyo which ended with him falling awkwardly on the ground. Utterly petrified, he all but crab walked to hug the wall and promptly curled up into a ball, watching Tsukiyo with wide eyes.

She hadn't moved at all. Still sitting on the desk, she watched his escaped attempts with a serene smile. Law watched from his chair with a dark smirk while Shachi and Penguin giggled under their breath. It was cruel but really, he was soo pathetic.

"Come now, Enrique. You knew I was coming." Tsukiyo chided softly. "You knew as soon as you tortured and killed _my_ agent, that I would come for you."

One black eyebrow of Law's rose. Her agent? Who exactly was this girl? A drug dealer? She seemed to be well known by at least the underworld and from Enrique's reaction, much feared. Who was Tsukuyomi?

Oblivious to Law's thoughts, Enrique spluttered, "I-I-p-please, Tsukuyomi-sama, I d-didn't know he was yours-"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, her smile falling. "Don't lie to me, Enrique Motez." She said, her voice soft and dangerous. "He had my mark. You knew he was mine before you tortured and killed him. And you thought you could get away with it because of your father's status, before he kindly told you otherwise."

In response to this, Enrique let out a whimper. Really, he was starting to look like an abandoned puppy except he wasn't nearly as cute, Tsukiyo thought absentmindedly.

Meanwhile Law was pondering what "her mark" was. Was it that lunar circle that was the locking seal on the door? So many questions and so little answers. Unknown to Tsukiyo, all this mysterious was making Law very interested in her. He did so love mysteries after all. The more difficult it was, the more it interested Law. Of course, his way of solving mysteries involved peeling it apart layer by layer. Metaphorically and something literally. For some reason, he didn't think Tsukiyo would much appreciate that sort of strategy if he applied it to her.

Tsukiyo observed her prey for a few moments, ignoring the way he fidgeted under her stare. Just when it looked like he was going to pee in his very expensive pants, she spoke up, "Details."

Enrique blinked, his fear momentarily trumpeted by confusion. "E-excuse me?" he managed to get out.

She sighed and leaned back casually on the desk, placing a hand slightly behind herself. "I want the details, Enrique. How you captured my agent, what you did to torture him, the way he died, and what you did with the body."

Enrique, dim-wit that he was, looked constipated as his fear-addled mind tried to process what she had said. It was easy to tell when he got it. A look of complete arrogance and confidence crossed his face and he unfurled from his ball to get to his feet and point a finger at Tsukiyo, all traces of fear gone. "Hah! So you do need my help! Tell you what, let me out of this room and maybe I'll tell you what you wan-AHH!" he broke off with a scream as a kitchen knife lodged itself in the wall two centimeters from his throat.

Bored with his rant, Tsukiyo had reached behind her with her free hand and grabbed the knives from the cart of food she had bought in as Petunia and thrown a knife with deadly skill at Enrique. Trembling at the close call, his much more sensible fear returned and his knees started to shake.

A satisfied smile flickered on her face. Taking her hand off the desk, she took a knife and threw it high in the air directly in front of her. The knife spun and Enrique's terrified eyes watched its progress. It almost touched the ceiling before it began its downwards spiral. When it got close enough, Tsukiyo grabbed it in an offhand display of fatal skill.

Appeased now that she had Enrique's attention and fear once again, she settled back down on the desk and said, "You, dear, are going to tell me everything I want to know, Enrique. One way or another. I don't strike bargains with people when I can torture them, you know," in a voice as casual as if they were talking about the weather.

Enrique went white as a sheet and got out something that sounded like, "umblurebd."

Completely ignoring him, Tsukiyo smiled again, serene as a deep pond. Outwardly tranquil but no one knows the storm that brews in the deep depths until it surfaces as a mighty whirlpool. Raising one elegant hand, she gestured to the area in front of her on the massive desk. "Do come over and sit." No one mistook that as anything but a command despite the polite way she worded it.

Enrique didn't dare refuse. Walking on shaky legs, he went closer to Tsukiyo step by slow step. She waited calmly, no one who knew her would say she lacked in patience. As soon as he got within her reach though, she reached forward with her free hand in a sudden, unavoidable move and grabbed his jacket. Using it, she slammed Enrique down on his desk; face down, his head away from her and his feet next to where she was sitting. Before he could react, she threw the knives she held in her hands in rapid fast movements. They landed on his shirt, his pants, pinning him to the table but never touching his skin.

He gasped, trembling faintly. Her expression never changing, Tsukiyo leaned back into her relaxed position. "Now, the details, Enrique." She commanded softly.

Enrique sucked in a big breath and said, "No." Albeit in a shaky tone that broke, but he seemed to have found a backbone. "If I tell you, you'll kill me." Or maybe just a coward's self-preservation instincts.

The silence echoed in the room. Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin watched the anxiously, not sure what Tsukiyo was going to do to this man that dared to defy her. Law looked closely at her and wondered what she was going to do now. So far, he had been impressed with the way she had handled the obnoxious heir.

Tsukiyo looked at the man pined to the desk next to her and sighed softly. Placing both gloved hands behind her, she leaned back on them and said in a deceptively mellow voice, "Do you know, Enrique, that the human body has around 207 bones?"

He gulped. Taking no notice she continued in that completely nonchalant tone, "I have plenty of time with you. Why don't I start with breaking your fingers?"

His one visible eye, the one that had been trained on Tsukiyo the whole time, widened and he shuddered. She observed him for a second and suggested, "How about this? I'll break a finger every two minutes you don't tell me what I want to know. If you want me to stop, you'll talk."

Without another word, she reached over and broke the pinky of his left hand. Ignoring his screams, she looked over curiously to the pirates who were watching her with either a smirk-Law-or wide eyes, i.e. everyone else.

"So," she said breezily over the sound of Enrique's screams. "You and your crew are new to the Grand Line right, Law-san?"

He chuckled, a deep, smooth sound that had entranced more than one girl. "Yes, we only entered a few weeks ago," he replied, not at all disturbed at having a conversation with someone who was currently torturing the man he had been talking to only half 15 minutes ago.

"I thought so," she said and glanced at the clock. Upon determining that two minutes had passed, she broke the ring finger of his left hand. "How did you end up listening to Enrique's ramblings?"

"I wanted his treasure, but didn't know where it was," Law admitted. "I stayed to try and figure out where it was but got stuck listening to him going on about his father."

"Yes, he does tend to do that." She broke his middle finger and he screamed, long and loud before falling silent. Glancing down, she frowned slightly. He was unconscious. Frankly, she was surprised he had lasted this long. Reaching over to the food cart, she grabbed a glass of ice water and dumped it over his head without remorse. He jerked awake with a gasp and she gave him one minute to recover. After it was over, she broke his pointer finger and resumed her conversation with Law. "Where are you from?"

He smiled in amusement. Why, their conversation sounded almost normal if you ignored the screams in the background. "North Blue. And you, Tsukiyo-ya?"

"Grand Line. I come from the Grand Line."

"And what do you do?"

She tilted her head slightly and like she had when he has asked for her name, looked directly into his grey eyes. She was silent for a time, the silence only broken by Enrique when she absentmindedly broke his left thumb. She really didn't like to give out personal information, he noted. Just when he thought she wasn't going to answer at all, she said in a voice so soft he had to strain himself to hear her, "I would be a spy, Law-san. Or to be more exact, a spymistress."

Law's eyes widened even as the pieces clicked into place. A spymistress. Yes, that would explain it. Her agent would be her spy, her subordinate. She knew his name, because information was what she did. The underworld knew who she was because they went to her for secret information. She had come after Enrique because the death of a subordinate was an insult to her. Even if she personally didn't care about the agent, if she let the insult to her person pass, she would garner less respect in the underworld. Her other agents would be more hesitant. Enrique was so terrified of her, because he had known she would come for vengeance. And if she was this well known and feared, she must be one of the best. The one the powerful went to for information. And with her ability to change her appearance, it wouldn't matter if people recognized her as the spymistress. She could be someone else in the blink of an eye. It was brilliant.

The moment was hastily by Enrique who had finally reached his limit. He sobbed out, "Pl-please no more! I'll tell you what you want! Please!"

Tsukiyo gave Law one more considering look that he didn't understand before she turned her attention back to the broken man next to her. "Ready to talk?"

"Yes!" he cried out.

"Alright." She hummed softly as she brought both hands to her lap in a rather lady-like move. "How did you capture my agent?"

"F-father had suspected a spy in our ranks for a while so I decided to secretly pinned down who it was. When I knew, I led an ambush and though he managed to defeat most of the men, one caught him by surprise and knocked him out." Enrique got out quickly, fearing her wrath.

"I see." Tsukiyo was quiet for some heartbeats as she considered this information. "Why did you guys torture him?"

"We wanted to know what he knew and…"

"And?"

"It was punishment for spying on us. He dared to betray us with his spying!" Enrique burst out, not able to help himself despite knowing he shouldn't push the woman who held his life in her hands.

Tsukiyo's face darkened slightly but she didn't break another one of his fingers. Instead, she asked, "How did you torture him? And how long?"

"I-we-we gave him salt water. And we kept giving it to him." He stuttered.

The hands on her lap tensed, gripped each other so tight the fingertips turned white. Law saw, understood, and sympathized to an extent. Drinking large amounts of salt water could lead to diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration and being delirious. It could also lead to seizures, brain damage, and death. As a Captain, he too carried responsibilities. He knew what it felt like to be responsible for the death of a subordinate. And he knew the fury of knowing that subordinate had suffered when serving under him.

"How long? she repeated, a frosty edge in her soft voice.

Enrique flinched. "I-three days."

She blinked. "Three days. You tortured my agent for three days."

It was a statement but he quickly confirmed with a hasty, "Yes."

"And I assume by the end of those three days, he died from massive intake of salt water."

"Yes."

Tsukiyo stared at the opposite wall, the one where Enrique had curled up in fear, for a long time. Almost a minute. He fidgeted uneasily on the desk while the pirates watched her closely to see what she would do next. Finally, she said, "And the body? What did you do with the body?"

Enrique hesitated, clearly reluctant to part with the last piece of information he had. For all that he was an idiot, even he understood that if he give her this last piece, there would be nothing to stop her from killing him. Tsukiyo reached out and slammed her hand against his left hand. The one with all the broken fingers.

His screams echoed off the wall. She watched his agonized face coldly, a cruel glint in those blue eyes that hadn't been there before. Tsukiyo, Law realized, was well and truly _mad_.

"The body?" she asked again when he stopped screaming, no give in her voice.

He gasped for breath, had tears streaming down his face. "W-we burned it. We didn't want to leave evidence behind."

"Who?"

"Butler and me and Petunia." he sobbed out.

"I see." Tsukiyo went quiet once more. When she lifted her head this time, Law knew she had come to a decision. She lifted her hand, palm down. Silver light glimmered around it for a moment and when she twisted her hand so that it was facing up, two small bottles appeared. One was light blue with dark blue swirls. The other was dark red with a black cap. She opened them and gently shook a pill from both. Placing the bottles back on her palm, she twisted her hand so that it was facing down and they were gone. Reaching with her free hand, she grabbed a cold cup of milk chocolate and dumped them both in. Both immediately dissolved.

Law watched in interest, while Enrique watched in fear. Shachi and Penguin watched in morbid curiosity while Bepo just watched because there was nothing else to do. Tsukiyo gently swirled the chocolate around; Trying to help whatever she put in it dissolve, Law realized. Once she was satisfied, she looked over at Enrique and said, "Listen closely to me if you want to live, Motez. That first cup of milk chocolate you drank had my poison in it. If you don't drink this antidote, you'll die in an hour or so."

Enrique's eyes went wide and a gurgled noise left his throat, which she kindly ignored. "I am going to remove those knives so you can sit up. Make any other move and we are going to have some bonding time over a detailed examination of your entrails. Understand?"

If possible, his eyes went even wider and he blanched, nodding frantically. It was a wonderful threat: calm, matter-of-fact, and left the victim in no doubts you would do it at the slightest provocation. Law approved.

Behind their Captain, Shachi whispered under his breath to Penguin, "Is it just me or does she remind you of Captain when he's being all polite and threatening at the same time?"

"It's not just you," Penguin confirmed just as quietly.

Meanwhile, said man was also wondering what she was doing. There was no question Tsukiyo would kill Enrique. She had to, if he understood the situation correctly. It was a matter of avenging the insult done to her and her status in the underworld. Poisioning him at the start was a good move, he admitted. That meant, whatever happened, he would still die. So, why was she giving him the antidote? And what was that other pill she had ended in the beverage? An antidote was classically only one pill.

Tsukiyo extended her hand, palm up once again. This time, the knives started to glow silver. She gestured upwards with her pointer finger and they flew up out of the desk to float in the air. She gestured to the space directly in front of her and the knives floated obediently down to settle in a pile there. Enrique rolled over and sat up, gaping at her. Ignoring that, she gave him the cup. He stared at it warily but drank all of it. When he was done, Enrique looked up to see the dark angel smirking in satisfaction and felt a thrill of fear.

"Good," she said simply and waited.

She didn't have to wait long. Within seconds, Enrique felt a burn in his stomach. Hotter and hotter, it became and he dropped the cup to bend over. The cup shattered on the floor and he looked up at Tsukiyo in confusion and fear. "Wha-? You said that was the antidote! What have you done?" he accused.

"It was," she confirmed, a dark smugness in her angelic voice. "But I also added another poison to it."

"What?" he cried out as the burn in his stomach began to spread to his chest.

"This poison isn't like the one before. That one was a quick acting poison. It would have killed you in an hour and a half. This poison is a slow acting poison that causes immense pain. No doctor in the world will be able to save you. It will burn through you day and night for three long days and nights. You'll die in agony, screaming for relief. Three days of torture. Just like what you did to poor Micheal Stevens," Tsukiyo said, her voice lowering to a hiss when she got to her deceased agent. "Of couse you can commit suicide before the time's up but I doubt you will. You are a coward after all."

Law rose an eyebrow and then smirked in amusement and approval. That was more like it. If she had really left Enrique alive and happy, his increasing respect for her would have taken a major downfall. He felt no sense of pity for Enrique. He was an annoying, useless brat and more importantly, he was the one who had killed an underling of Tsukiyo. As far as he was concerned, that give her the right to do any and everything to him. If it had been him, he would have bought Enrique to his operation table and dissected him without amnesia. Tsukiyo's punishment was a suitable one, in his opinion. Though he was curious in this slow-acting poison that she claimed no doctor in the world could cure. He did love challenges after all.

Enrique gaped at Tsukiyo even as the burn intensified. "You bitch!" he screamed in fury and pain. He lunged across the desk, hands out to grab her neck. She did nothing, not until he was only a few feet away from her. Then she rose a hand, palm facing him. A silver glow surronded her and Enrique went flying back to slam against the back wall. Ropes of silver pinned him to the wall even as he screeched in pain.

Tsukiyo slid off the desk and to her feet in a graceful movement. Landing on the floor without a sound despite her high heels, she turned to regard Enrique with cold eyes for an instant. Then, she turned, obviously dismissing him from her mind and looked at the pirates. Bepo watched her with wide eyes, Shachi and Penguin torn between fear and awe, and Law stared at her with a calculating look.

Tsukiyo smiled, serene and gentle, as if she hadn't tortured and sentenced a man to an angonizing death only a few moments ago. "Now that that's done, why don't I show you pirates the treasure room?" she asked, her voice once more impossibly gentle and pure.

Law smirked "Lead the way, Tsukiyo-ya."

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**Oh god, this snippet is more of a chapter. It wrote itself I swear. I'm proud of myself. I never thought I could write this much! Review, peeps!~~**


	4. Game

**Lucy Jacob: Thanks! I try and update before the plot runs away from me. I'm afraid next week, I'm going to a camp so no updates.**

**One Piece is not mine, you peons!~**

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**Game**

"Here we are, boys. Enrique Motez's prized treasure room." Tsukiyo announced as she opened the double doors to reveal heaps of gold and gems, even as she let her Petunia appearance fade away.

"Phew." Shachi breathed. "No offense, uh Tsukiyo-chan, but watching you act look and act like that was really creepy."

Law couldn't help but agree. After leaving Enrique's office with him still screaming, Tsukiyo had resumed her disguise as Petunia and led them through the manor with ease. It had been disturbing watching the lethal, beautiful woman become the nauseating, fat nurse again.

Back in complete black and total elegance, Tsukiyo laughed softly. "No offense taken. Petunia is not someone I will ever like, but she was the best person for infiltration." Stepping lightly to the side to allow the pirates to pass, she walked over to sit gracefully on a gold chair, evidently handing the reigns to Law.

Law looked around the room and let a smirk cross his face. "Split up," he ordered, voice suddenly brusque and curt. "Find anything and everything useful and of value."

"Yes, Captain." The Heart Pirates chorused and went into action. Shachi took the right side, Penguin the middle and Bepo got to work on the three cabinets.

Within moments, Bepo called out, "Captain! These are all locked."

Law frowned slightly, there was no chance there was nothing important in those cabinets. A chinking noise to his right had him turning his head. Tsukiyo gently twirled a ring of keys around her pointer finger, an amused smile on her face. Law raised an eyebrow and held out a hand, saying, "The keys, if you please Tsukiyo-ya."

She laughed gently, but sent the keys flying across the room with a flick of her finger. They landed perfectly on his open hand. Law walked across the room to fiddle with the cabinets, sending Bepo to look at all the maps and see what was useful. As he did, he asked, "Are you looking for anything, Tsukiyo-ya?"

"Why do you ask?" she answered, a teasing lilt in her voice.

Law smiled; amused by the little game they were playing. They both knew it meant nothing, was merely entertainment for the time being. "Well, you are still here after all. Our agreement was that you bring us here. That was all. There is no other reason for you to hang around."

She chuckled delicately. "I suppose you're right. I am looking for a special little something."

He paused from his work to turn his head and quirk an eyebrow at her. "Special little something?" he repeated, eyeing her as she sat with perfect posture, her hands together, the picture of a perfect aristocratic lady.

She smiled mysteriously. "Now, Law-san. Telling now would be a violation of the rules."

Law blinked. "We have rules?"

"Of course. Every game has its rules, you know."

"If you insist, Tsukiyo-ya." He replied, turning back to try the keys on the cabinet again. "What should these rules be? And stop gaping and get back to work, you two."

By now, all of the Heart Pirates were completely confused by the interaction but Shachi and Penguin had stopped their work to gape at their Captain and Tsukiyo. At their Captain's snapped order, they jumped and promptly did as told.

"Why, they're exactly what we want them to be," she replied. Law was fairly certain he had detected a faint _you should know this_ tone in her voice, but didn't comment. The sixth key he tried on the first cabinet clicked and he smirked in triumph.

"And you have determined a no-telling rule?" he asked curiously. He reached out and pulled the first cabinet open to reveal a large, large amount of beli.

"My, that's a lot of money," Tsukiyo commented from where she had appeared directly behind him. "And yes. No telling."

Only Law's pride and nerves of steel kept him from jumping. How in the world had she traveled the distance from the chair to directly behind him in those few seconds? Penguin, the one that had originally been the closest to Law, didn't have his Captain's control. He jumped up with a, "The hell, Tsukiyo-chan!"

"Sorry, sorry." She drawled in a way that made it clear she was anything but. "I take it you're going to take all that money, Law-san?"

"I am. Did you want it?" he inquired, breathing a silent sigh of relief when she moved back a few steps.

"No. I have more than enough money. In fact…" a crash echoed through the room, making Shachi and Penguin jump yet again. Law looked up from trying to get the second cabinet open to see Tsukiyo standing in front of a beautiful mahogany desk. That was currently in two pieces via a clean, sharp slice through the middle.

"How did the desk offend you, Tsukiyo-ya?" he asked mockingly while trying to figure out how she had broken it when he had seen no visible swords on her person.

"I decided it was looking at me wrong," she replied without missing a beat. Walking around to the front of the desk, she began to shift through its contents.

Law watched her for a bit, and then went back to his cabinets. The second one held drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. Needless to say, Law was very interested in this one. He was a doctor after all. But he put off working through the drugs to try and get the third cabinet open. After maybe 5 minutes, the third cabinet opened. This one was filled with letters. Hmm. Letters. Information. Spymistress.

"Is this what you're looking for Tsukiyo-ya?" he questioned. Within seconds, she was beside him, staring at the letters with analytical eyes. He really wanted to know how she did that. Was it pure speed or something else?

"Yes," she said simply. "Back away please."

No one had ever accused Law of being unintelligent. At least none that were still alive today. He backed away.

Tsukiyo closed her eyes and placed her spread hands above the open cabinet. The letters started to glow bright silver. Ten seconds later, the silver glow was gone and so were the letters. She let her hands drift back to her sides and rose, turning smoothly.

"My thanks, Law-san." She told him. "I'll take my leave now."

"Of course," he returned graciously. He was interested in Tsukuyomi, didn't want her to leave quite yet, but he recognized that to try and detain her now would ruin the cautious but friendly relationship they had right now. He could always research her later. Besides, he wasn't sure he could make her stay; her powers were not anything he was familiar with and she moved with the lethal grace of someone who knew combat intimately. "It was…interesting meeting you, Tsukiyo-ya."

She smiled enigmatically and knowingly. "Likewise, Law-san. Until next we meet."

"You sound very confident we will." He noted.

Tsukiyo tilted her head slightly and laughed musically even as silver light began to gather around her and that lunar circle appeared beneath her feet. "We haven't finished our game yet," she reminded him. "And all games must end."

Before he could reply to that-and he didn't really know how to reply to that, to be honest- silver light engulfed her and she was gone.

"Captain? What just happened?" Shachi asked in confusion.

Law was silent for a while and then he smirked, dark and amused. "We started a game. That's all."

None of his crewmates understood that, but knew better than to push. The real question though, Law thought to himself, was: where would this game take them?

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**Like I told Lucy Jacob, I will be going to camp next week, so no updates! Please, review!**


	5. Encounter

**One Piece does not belong to me~~ Oh! And I'm back from my week long trip! It was so tiring...but anyways!**

**ZabuzasGirl: Thank you for reviewing! And I'm sorry I couldn't update immediately. I was farway from my home and computer these last few days.**

**Lucy Jacob: You're right, that is why she took those letters. She is a spymistress after all! And I had lots of fun at camp, thanks! **

**Savage Kill: Who knows where she gets her powers? *Laughs nervously* Anyway, thanks for reviewing and hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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**Encounter**

Law made good on his promise to himself. As soon as they were all out of Enrique's mansion with the stolen treasures in the sub, he went to the Library. For such a small town, they had a good one, he thought to himself as he stared at the ginormous shelf in front of him. Now, where should he start looking for information on Tsukuyomi?

"Young man," a female voice said behind him. Startled, but not willing to show it, he turned around to see a middle-aged librarian with short brown hair approaching him with a friendly smile. How had he missed her presence?

Coming to a stop in front of him, she looked at him with deep brown eyes behind thick framed glasses. "Do you need help finding something? I thought you looked a bit confused."

Law observed the older woman neutrally. He didn't want to accept help, but it would be better if he did, he acknowledged. This library was truly massive. "Information on pirates, Miss." he requested.

She smiled politely. "Of course, they're right this way."

The librarian led him through the maze of bookshelves and came to a stop in front of a bulletin board filled with wanted posters and a thick bookshelf with piles of newspapers right next to it. "This would be all the information we have on pirates." she told him.

Law eyed the bookshelf with some trepidation. It would take hours searching through all those newspapers. Oh, well, he thought with a small sigh. It couldn't be helped. Maybe he could get his crew to help lessen the load. "Thank you, Miss."

"No problem." she replied. Walking over to the bookshelf to his surprise, she took one newspaper out and handed it him. "You might find what you're looking for in here."

He blinked. He had never told her what he was looking for! Before he could say anything, she turned around and began to walk back to the front desk. Law watched her in confusion, feeling as if he was missing something. The smooth, graceful movements of the librarian reminded him of something he had seen before, but he couldn't remember what.

Shaking it off, he looked at the newspaper in his hand. It was dated from a year ago, he realized. Curious and confused as to why the librarian had given him this one, he walked to one of the provided sofas and sat down. Strange or not, he might as well start from this one.

The first page of the newspaper was about some bomb or another exploding on an island in West Blue. He scanned it, but found no mention of Tsukuyomi. Law felt an unusual sense of disappointment. That librarian hadn't even know who he was looking for. She had probably just picked this newspaper at random. There were no logical reasons to assume this newspaper even had any mention of his quarry. Despite that, he found himself turning the page. A piece of paper that been thrust in between drifted down to land at his feet.

Raising an eyebrow, Law picked it up and sucked in a breath of surprise. It was a wanted poster. Of Tsukuyomi. Bizarrely, the picture was a full length one, not the close up that most wanted posters had. In the poster, she stood on a battlefield of some sort. She was also the only one standing. At her feet were dozens of marines, all looking dead. Her long wavy black hair was free, drifting around her face and ending around her thighs. Despite all the bodies around her, she seemed flawless, no blood on her black gown nor on her white skin. Her black gloved hands held an elegant black umbrella that she had open and up though there was no rain to be seen. The lady was looking directly at the camera, a taunting smile on her face.

Not sure what to expect, he looked at the caption and did a double take. Tsukiyo had the classic dead or alive order, but her bounty was certainly unexpected. She had a 350,000,000 bounty! Law's own bounty was only 120 million beri! So his previous assumption was correct. She was _powerful_. The wanted poster said she was "Dark Sorceress" Tsukuyomi. Personally, Law thought the epithet fit the lady quite well.

He looked up from the wanted poster to the article. Scanning it quickly, he found it was about an attack on a marine base by Tsukuyomi. Apparently, the marines had captured one of her agents from a pirate ship and had refused to give him back. The whole conflict had ended with the marine base decimated, the marines there defeated, and the agent back with Tsukiyo. Law wasn't particularly surprised. Her actions fit in with what he knew of her personality.

Looking at the newspaper and the wanted poster, he was, however, concerned with just how the librarian had known what he was looking for. He hadn't told her what he wanted yet she had given him this particular newspaper. Frowning, he looked back at the article and a particular detail caught his eye. To get in the marine base, Tsukiyo had changed her appearance to that of a low level marine. His mind raced, quickly connecting the dots. Tsukiyo could change her appearance. That librarian's presence had gone unnoticed by him and she had known what he had been looking for. That and the way she moved, like liquid silver...

Law rose to his feet and spun around. At the information desk, a pretty blonde librarian was chatting with a beautiful dark haired woman. The plain, brown haired librarian was nowhere in sight. His eyes locked on to the woman who was now bidding goodbye to the librarian. As she turned around, blue, blue eyes stared into his own. An amused, slightly taunting smile flickered over that enchanting face and then Tsukiyo walked out the main door, her steps as graceful as a prima ballerina's.

His first reaction was to sprint after her and demand an explanation. Law's very logical mind quickly deterred that impulse, though. As she had just shown him, it would be incredibly easy for her to disappear in the crowded streets of the town. If she had wanted him to follow her, she would have made that clear. No, he wouldn't be able to catch her. She had already displaying an interest in him or at least, in teasing him. He would see her again, she had told him herself.

Sighing, he settled back down on his sofa. He couldn't understand why she had done what she did. Why had she given him information on himself when she obviously didn't enjoy giving out information? She was a spymistress, leaked out information could mean death to all involved. For that matter, why had she sought him out? Law was sure a lady like her had more important things to be doing than playing games with a rookie captain. She had been born in the Grand Line and had a high bounty. There was no reason for her to play with someone so new to the Grand Line. And there had been no reason for her to indulge his curiosity and interest back at the mansion. If nothing else, he was certain now that she was more powerful than he was. One did not survive the Grand Line alone for that long by being weak. Why had she conversed with him in a disguise and then let him know her identity later? It made no sense.

Law groaned. So many questions and so few answers. This was **frustrating**.

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**It's so much fun torturing Law! So tell me what you guys think! Review, review, review!  
**


	6. Festival

**One Piece does not belong to me~~~**

**Oh, but Tsuki-chan does. And frankly I am proud of my updating rate! But I wonder what this says about my social life…**

**Savage Kill: What? Of course there's nothing about her powers that make me nervous...in fact they're all really nice and cuddly and are normal!*quickly runs away, calling over her shoulder "Thanks for reviewing!"***

**Rosy Fire: Thanks! Oh and thanks for reviewing. Law's a fun guy to write. If a little frustrating, but all in good fun right?! As for Tsukiyo-chan, it's natural for her to be dark and mysterious. We'll see other sides of her later, but she'll always play things close. **

**angryHarlequin: Thanks for reviewing! I'll do my best to keep up the story quality.**

**And, now, onwards! This is actual the first chapter in Moon Mage that's done in snippets! And it's one of the longest XD! Over 3,000 words!  
**

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**Celebration**

A week after he knew Enrique had died; Law stepped out from his hotel and stared.

Gone was the quiet, peaceful town he had known his entire stay here. Lights had been strung all over, lanterns striking against the night sky, and what looked like the entire population of the town was in the streets. Music was playing somewhere and everywhere he looked, there seemed to be people dancing and laughing.

Quirking a brow, he walked down the steps and asked a nearby man, "What's going on?"

The older man laughed and replied, "You mean you haven't heard? That evil, spoiled brat Enrique is gone! Killed! And so are his servants, Butler and Petunia! It's a time for celebration!"

Law's eyes widened. He had known that Enrique had not been well liked, but for these people to celebrate his death..."Do you know how they died?"

The man frowned, "Well, we don't know how Enrique died, but they think it's some poison or another. But Butler was stuck with a knife like 17 times and Petunia was beheaded. We found her head on the fountain this morning. Enrique's body was hanging from his window on a rope too.

Law considered this and smirked. It really was a good way to make a statement and for those who knew of Enrique's transgression, a blatant warning. He thanked the man and went off to look for his crewmates.

He found Bepo first. Unsurprisingly, the polar bear didn't blend in well with the crowd. He was sitting on a cart, watching the crowd. Walking up to his navigator, Law asked, "Where's the rest of the crew?"

Bepo looked down, a cloud of gloom over his head. "I'm sorry, Captain. Shachi and Penguin were dancing with some girls and then I lost track of them. Everyone else is back at the sub."

Law sighed and left to find his wayward crewmates, leaving Bepo with his nodachi and an order for him to not cause trouble. He wasn't all that worried. Shachi and Penguin could take care of themselves. As he walked around, he took notice of the food stands and offered games. Looks like the townspeople really pulled out all the stops for today, he thought to himself aimlessly.

After around 20 minutes, he came to a stop in the town square where most of the people were gathered in a village dance. It looked like a circle dance of some kind; the musicians hung back on the left, playing loudly. But it wasn't his crewmates that had caught his eyes. A young girl, looking around 17, danced near the middle of the circle. Long brown hair spun around her, sometime whipping into her laughing cerulean blue eyes, a shade of blue matched by her kimono. She was pretty and evidently one of the most skilled dancers in the circle, but that wasn't what caught his attention. No, it was the way she moved and danced. Like liquid silver.

Law narrowed his eyes and walked to lean his back against a nearby stand. He was sure Shachi and Penguin could take care of themselves for a bit longer.

**Partner**

Law didn't have to wait long. The village dance exchanged the inner circle and the outer circle quite often. On one such exchange, the girl's partner spun her a little too hard and she went flying. Right into him.

Involuntarily, a slight 'oomph' left his mouth when she collided with him. The stand didn't stand a chance against the combined weight and momentum of the two. It unfolded with a crackling noise and Law found himself on the ground, quite disorientated.

When he could see clearly again, he looked at the girl on top of him. She still seemed dizzy and confused, but then, she had been hit by a stray piece of wood hard on the head. He waited patiently for her to get her bearings back.

After a few minutes, she lifted her head off his chest with a groan and looked at him. Law counted five seconds in his head before realization lit up her eyes and she flushed.

"Oh, god, I'm so sorry!" she said, quickly pushing herself to her feet. "I didn't mean to land on you! Or crash into you! Or-"

"Miss, it's okay." Law said soothingly, torn between amusement and confusion. She wasn't reacting like he had expected. He highly doubted Tsukiyo would blush. And certainly not at this situation. But he had been so certain this was his mysterious opponent. "I know it was an accident."

"Still, I'm really sorry." she extended a hand and he took it, letting her pull him to his feet. "My partner's a bit too enthusiastic."

He looked back to the square. "Your partner's found a replacement," he told her, entertained.

She tilted her head and looked for her partner. She found him dancing happily with an older woman. The girl frowned and accessed the man she had crashed into.

Law felt the hairs on the back of his neck stick up and he turned his attention back to the teenage girl to find her eying him in a way that made him instantly suspicious.

"Excuse me?" she asked, looking innocent.

"Yes?" he asked, feeling wary at that look. He doubted this would turn out well.

She smiled, "Can you dance?"

Law felt a shiver go down his back. "Yes, bu-"

"Good!" she cut him off quickly. Grabbing his arm, she began to tug him back to the circle. Startled and surprised, Law let her. "You can be my new dance partner! Oh, and I'm Lyla!"

He gaped at her, not sure how he should react at her manhandling him back to the square. "Bu-" he tried again.

"Come on! The next dance is starting! This one's a foxtrot, by the way." she said happily, dragging him into place.

How, Law thought to himself, as she grabbed his hand and wound it around her waist, did he get in this position?

**Dance**

To Law's relief, dancing with Lyla was not as bad as he thought it would be. His earlier assessment had been correct; Lyla was one of the most skilled dancers in the village. She moved with the smallest of guiding moves on his part, twirling up and down his arms with ease. If he wasn't so annoyed at how she had all but forced him into dancing with her, he might even have said he enjoyed dancing with her.

"You're a better dancer than you made yourself out to be!" she told him cheerfully somewhere in the middle of their 4th dance. This one was a swing dance and all around them, he could hear the squeals and laughter of the women being flung into the air.

"Oh?" he asked, smiling in amusement at the peal of laughter she let out when he flipped her. Her reaction had not been cute. Not at all.

"Yup!" she confirmed breathlessly.

He chuckled, asking, "When are you going to let me go? This is the 4th dance you've forced me into."

Even as the words left his mouth, he was aware that he could have left anytime. Lyla wouldn't have made a scene over such a small thing during this festival that she was patently loving. He had stayed, because he had wanted to. Law trusted his instincts; he was a swordsman and a doctor after all. And his instincts were whispering that this night, this girl who laughed and smiled freely, was like cupped water. If he wasn't careful, it would slip through his fingers and there would never be another like it again. Whether or not she was Tsukiyo-and he had some doubts about that-, Lyla was someone wild. She wasn't anything you could catch.

As to why he was being so indulgent with her, well, he was only assuaging his curiosity. Nothing more.

Lyla pouted at him and this time he couldn't deny that the look was adorable. "But...I love dancing! And singing!" she whined

"That isn't a good reason," he told her, trying to be stern. "And singing?"

"Yeah!" she confirmed merrily, her pout disappearing in a second. "I love to sing. Not today though. I want to dance today." Her pout appeared on her face as quickly as it disappeared.

Law attempted to frown seriously at her. "One more dance." he bargained. "Only one more."

She smiled brightly at him. "Okay!" she agreed.

**Escort**

It was a lie. Lyla coaxed him into 6 more dances before dragging him off to look at the souvenir stands with her.

"Oooh!" she cooed over a pretty black and white kimono. "This is so pretty!"

"Do you want to buy it?" he asked, watching her with interest.

She giggled, looked up at him with playful eyes. "If I said yes, would you buy it for me?" she asked teasingly.

"Don't even think about it," he replied immediately. "You've already forced me dancing."

Lyla only laughed and taking out a purse, she took out the appropriate amount and payed the happy seller. The old woman took the kimono and folded it carefully. Placing it in a bag, she handed it to Lyla who turned to Law with an expectant look.

He frowned. "You can not expect me to carry all your purchases."

She looked entirely innocent, which as he had learned earlier, meant nothing but trouble. "Of course, I can. You're my escort tonight!"

His eye twitched. "When did I become your escort?" he demanded in irritation.

"A couple minutes ago." she told him, smiling sweetly. "Please? Pretty please?"

Law stared into pleading cerulean blue eyes for an indeterminable amount of time before reluctantly folding like a house of cards. Giving her a firm death glare, he took her bag and grit out a, "If your stuff gets lost, don't you dare blame me."

Lyla's only reaction was to flash him a beaming grin and grabbing his hand, she began to tug him down the street again. Law rolled his eyes, but followed without protest.

**Stories**

For the third time in the past five minutes, Lyla let out a large yawn. Law raised an eyebrow at her, his left hand weighed down with three heavy bags.

"It's late," he commented. It was true. By now, the moon was starting its journey back down the horizon. Still, the festival went on. The two could hear the music, but they were near the edge of the village so it was distant.

"But...I don't wanna sleep yet." she mumbled out, frowning.

"Then, what do you want to do?" he asked patiently. He had learned early on in her company that Lyla did what she wanted and any attempt to make her do otherwise would result in her digging her heels in with incredible stubbornness. Never mind that the advice might be better for her in the long run. He _had_ told her getting that close to the baby sea king was a bad idea. She had ignored him and would have gotten her hand bitten off if he hadn't yanked her back.

Lyla frowned and looked around them. They were in a small clearing with rocks and moss and trees all around them. She walked towards a moss covered rock and sat down, leaning against it. Lifting a hand, she firmly pointed at a nearby rock at a 45 degree angle away. Taking the hint but not sure what she was up to, Law walked over and sat down.

"I want you to tell me stories about your crew." she said to him and his eyes widened in surprise. Over the night, he had come to the conclusion Lyla could not be Tsukiyo. There were just too many differences between them, the gap in their personalities too large. No matter how good of an actor she was, there was no way she was _that_ good. Good enough to fool him for an entire night. Could it be that he was wrong?

"How did you know?" he asked her. She frowned and then pointedly stared at his hoodie before looking at him. Confused, he looked down and swiftly realized what he had forgotten. His hoodie had his jolly roger on it. He resisted the urge to slap his forehead.

"What do you want to know?" he wouldn't tell her any important information; even if she wasn't Tsukiyo, there was always a chance that she would gossip, but he could handle small, humorous stories.

She pursed her lips, looking far too charming. "Who did you bring with you on to the island? There were those two guys and that polar bear..."

"Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo." he told her, not seeing any harm in it.

"Oh. Wha'd they do on your ship?" she asked sleepily.

"Shachi and Penguin are mechanics. Bepo is the navigator." he said, patiently waiting for her to fall asleep. It wouldn't be long now.

She frowned slightly in thought, her eyelids drooping. "Is Bepo the polar bear?"

He simply nodded in response.

Her frown dissolved into a sleep and slightly dreamy smile. "He's so cute! And fluffy. I think I'd like to cuddle him."

Law chuckled. "Ready to go to sleep yet, Lyla-ya?"

"No…" she murmured stubbornly.

He smirked and leaned back against his surprisingly very comfortable rock. He assumed it was the moss.

Two minutes passed and Lyla's eyes had shut, her breathing deep and even. Law got up and carefully placed her on some soft moss. Placing her bags next to her, he stood up and began to make his way back to the town to find Shachi and Penguin. He didn't want to know the trouble those two had likely gotten into.

**Departure**

_You said if you could fly_  
_you would leave all this far behind you_  
_and soar off to the sky_  
_so blue, so blue, that sky so blue_  
_if there's a place for us, we'd never come back down_  
_so blue, so blue, that sky so blue_

Law woke with the sun shining into his eyes and a gentle voice singing softly nearby. He groaned and bought up a hand to cover his eyes. Where was he?

"Had fun last night, Law-san?" a familiar voice said somewhere near him.

"I did." he replied. A minute later, his brain caught up to him, and his nostrils flared in alarm. Sitting up abruptly he found himself splaying out on the ground, near a table filled with empty bottles of booze. Shachi and Penguin were passed out a few feet away from him and sitting at a table nearby was Tsukiyo. Following this revelation, his hangover slammed into him and he groaned.

"Drank too much?" she asked, keeping her voice soft.

"Shachi and Penguin dragged me into their idiotic drinking contest." he explained.

"Hmm."

Law blinked and found a cup filled with green liquid pushed into his hand.

"Drink that," she said. "It'll make your hangover better."

Dimly, he remembered that she had poisoned Enrique, but figured she was strong enough that she could kill him anytime she wanted to and she _had_ found him passed out on the street. Plus, she had no reason to kill him. Taking the cup, he slammed it down, knowing from experience that hangover cures tasted awful. He was right. It tasted horrid, but a few silent minutes later, he felt considerably better.

"Thank you, Tsukiyo-ya." he said, dragging himself on to a chair. He would rather not have a conversation with the mysterious lady sitting on the floor with a bunch of empty bottles. He would feel at too much of a disadvantage.

"You are welcome," she replied. With her hair in a neat bun and dressed in a flowy, black, knee-length dress, she certainly didn't look like she belonged in the dirty alley where they were. Strangely, she wore black flats and her gloves only covered her hands today.

She, he realized suddenly, looked like she was going to go somewhere.

"You're leaving," it was more of a statement than a question, but she nodded anyways.

"Yes, it's time for me to leave this island." she informed him.

He dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement. "Will we meet again?" he asked her again.

She smiled faintly, "What do you think, Law-san? Do you think we will meet again?"

He hesitated for a moment. Looking at her steadily, he said, "I think...we have not finished our game."

Her smile widened. "Then, you have your answer." Rising smoothly to her feet with that distinctive grace, she began to walk away. His gaze followed her and right before she turned a corner, she stopped and turned slightly. If he didn't know better, he would have thought he saw a mischievous spark in those dark blue eyes.

"Your navigator is sleeping near the town square, if you need him. Until next we meet, Law-san." Quietly, she turned and disappeared into the shadows.

Law stared after her. He had never told her Bepo was his navigator. Actually, he had never told _Tsukiyo_ Bepo was his navigator. But, he had told...

_"I love to sing..."_ Lyla had said last night.

Somehow, later in the day, Law wasn't surprised when the groggy townspeople told him there was no one with the name Lyla in their village. In fact, he was almost expecting it.

* * *

**Review and tell me what you think! *giggle* Law, did you really think you could figure Tsukiyo out that quickly?  
**


	7. Curse

**One Piece does not belong to me!**

**Rosy Fire: Lolz, Lyla was adorable, wasn't she?**

**Lucy Jacob: Hmm...you might be on to something there~**

* * *

**Wonder**

"Captain!" Bepo's voice called from outside the door.

Law looked up from his newest medical article. "Come in," he said.

Bepo ran in, looking as eager as a polar bear could be. "We're going to arrive at the next island in 20 minutes!"

He smirked, "Good, tell everyone to get ready."

"Yes, Captain!" Bepo ran out again.

Law put down his article and grabbed his nodachi, stretching out the chinks in his neck. "Hmm...I wonder what this island will be like.." he mused to himself as he left for the control room. He hoped it had a good library. It had been several weeks since he last saw Tsukiyo and he still had little to no information on her.

* * *

**Ghost Town**

Apparently, the island was like a ghost town.

Law had split his crew up in groups of three and left Shachi and Penguin behind to guard the submarine. Now, he, Bepo, and Etzel - a samurai of Wano he had recruited some months ago - walked along the empty streets.

He frowned thoughtfully. There was no one to be seen, though the buildings and establishments all suggested a human presence on the island. Every light in the small town was out and some homes were close to falling to pieces. It was all very, very peculiar.

Bepo glanced around the place warily. He didn't like the place. It smelled rotten and wrong. He stepped closer to his Captain. Etzel stayed on guard, one hand on his sword. There was no telling what would jump out of this place.

An eerie wind blew across the town and a ripped trash bag rolled over to stop at Law's feet. Raising an eyebrow, he lifted his nodachi off his shoulder and used the end of the hilt to poke at it.

Squeaks filled the air and Law hurriedly moved his precious sword away from the trash bag. A minute later, three incredibly large rats ran out of the bag, thoroughly scaring Bepo, and ran off into a dark alley.

"Captain?" Bepo asked, breathing quickly

"Yes?" he responded, though he had the feeling he knew what his navigator was going to say.

"I really don't like this place," the polar bear confided, eyeing the trash bag uneasily.

Law said nothing more, but continued down the street. Paws shaking slightly, Bepo followed. Etzel brought up the rear, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

Ghost town, indeed.

* * *

**Curse**

Law and his group were near the town center when a man appeared.

He came screaming out of a nearby home and tripped on his stairs. Falling face forward, he stayed there for a moment. Dragging himself on to his hands and knees, he began to crawl forward, dark, oily strands of hair hiding his face. "It hurts," the male moaned, voice scratchy.

Law watched, eyes narrowed, and gripped tighter on his nodachi. So, it seemed the town wasn't as deserted as it looked to be. Bepo gulped and took a step back from the obviously deranged man. Etzel tensed and rolled his weight to the balls of his feet, ready to attack or to defend.

The man stopped and collapsed on to the floor. "IT HURTS!" he screamed.

Bepo whimpered.

The sound was loud in the silence. The man lifted his face, trying to find the source. Law's eyes widened and Bepo gasped. Etzel paled, his heart missing a beat. The man's eyes were bloodshot, but that wasn't the surprising part.

His face was filled, covered in boils. The size of golf balls, the boils were a painful looking red, and they oozed yellow puss. It was disgusting to say the least.

The sick man's eyes, a cloudy brown, darted around the streets, completely bypassing the pirates at least four times, before locking on to them.

"You..." he got out, lifting a shaky finger to point at them. "You! Help me! Please!"

Propelling himself by the elbows, he inched towards the Heart Pirates and their Captain.

Etzel hooked his thumb under his sword, pushing it up an inch. "Captain?" he asked, his yellow eyes alert.

"Hold," Law commanded, watching the man's pitiful progress. When he got within a few feet, he inquired, "What did this to you?"

The man collapsed once more, chest shaking with coughs. He coughed up a glop of blood which he spit on the ground. To Bepo and Etzel's horror, the blood was black.

"The curse..." the man rasped.

"A curse?" the Heart Captain repeated skeptically.

"Yes! The Black Magician's curse!" the man cried out. He gasped for air and started to go into convulsions on the ground. Law frowned and stepped forward to his crewmates' horror. He handed Kikoku to Bepo carelessly.

"Captain!" Bepo protested.

Law gave him a quelling look and the polar bear bowed his head, a cloud of doom hanging over him. "I'm sorry."

"Stop that!" Etzel said firmly, giving Bepo a slap of the hand.

"I'm sorry..."

"I said, stop it!"

Ignoring their antics, Law went to his hunches beside the dying man. He was reaching out a hand to flip him over when an angelic voice interrupted him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Law-san."

Surprised, the pirates looked up to see a familiar lady standing in front of them.

Her long black hair tied up in a twist at the nape of her neck, Tsukuyomi observed the scene serenely, a beautiful semitransparent black umbrella with flared edges and sophisticated white flowers shielding her from the late afternoon sunlight. She wore a V-neck evening gown, the top white with black flowery lace. Three black flowers with white centers on a black strip of silk separated the top and the bottom which emphasized her thin waist and hourglass figure. The bottom was simple, elegant black chiffon fabric in a full-length dress that reached her ankles. She had her elbow-length black lace gloves on and strappy black high heels adorned her feet. No one with working eyes could ever argue she was anything but the embodiment of sophistication.

Law narrowed his eyes at her. It was subtle, but he could see it: a cocoon of silver light that glimmered around her. Recalling her advice, he withdrew his hand from the now dead man and rose to his feet.

"Why not, Tsukiyo-ya?" he asked her, casually walking back within reach of his nodachi. She had never hurt him or his crew in their previous encounters; had even helped them, albeit to her own benefit as well, but he was well aware of how dangerous she could be and he would not endanger the lives of himself and his nakama on the roll of a dice.

She smiled slightly. Law caught the flicker of amusement in those eyes of deep, endless blue and realized she knew exactly what had just gone through his mind. She didn't comment though, saying, "The 'curse' spreads through skin to skin contract and contaminated food and drink. It would be bad for your crew if their doctor got 'cursed', yes?"

"Yes..." he confirmed thoughtfully. "So, you are saying there is such a curse then?"

She looked at him, tilting her head slightly to the left. "Perhaps. Your crew certainly believes so, what with 3 of them in your sick bay."

Law stiffened, Bepo's mouth opened in shock, and Etzel's face hardened. "How do you know that, woman?" the brown-haired swordsman demanded.

The Pirate Captain flicked a glance at his swordsman in response to the hostile tone of his voice, but didn't stop him.

The beautiful lady's face didn't change, hiding her reaction to the disrespect. "Who knows, Etzel Aurik? She said unflinchingly. "I suppose it'll have to remain a mystery until you return to your submarine."

Etzel flinched when his full name left the strange woman's mouth. "How do you-?"

"Know my full name?" Tsukiyo completed. "You'll have to ask your Captain that question. Maybe not now though. This curse does work rather quickly, after all."

Law pressed his lips together. "How long do they have?"

She scrutinized him, eyes serious. "If they're strong, four or five days at best, provided they are nursed well."

"Understood," he replied with a sharp nod and took his nodachi. "Bepo, Etzel, return to the sub. Avoid any and all contact with the townspeople, whether they look infected or not."

"Hai!" they said, leaving with Etzel throwing one last suspicious look in Tsukiyo's direction.

"You need to train that one a little better," she murmured, gently twirling her umbrella.

"He's okay once he warm up to you," he told her, his amusement fading when he remembered three of his crew were sick or 'cursed'. Law was a logical man; he doubted this was a curse. Tsukiyo herself had hinted that it most likely wasn't. From the symptoms, it was most likely an infectious disease that had gotten seriously out of hand.

"Will you come to my submarine, Tsukiyo-ya?" he asked. She had proven to be knowledgeable in medicine in Enrique's mansion and she knew more about this than he did. Law would not be a prideful fool and waste time and potentially the lives of his crew by denying himself her knowledge.

She sighed. "Will you give me free passage to your submarine, then?" she asked in turn.

Law froze. He knew of free passage from his time with Doflamingo. It was a concept that was similar to an oath on the seas. Essentially, if he said yes, she would be able to come onto his submarine any time she wanted and neither his crew nor himself could harm her so long as she was on the sub. It was, 'cursed' crew or not, an incredibly risky move concerning a woman he knew close to nothing about. If he broke free passage, it would greatly tarnish his reputation as a pirate in the Grand Line and cause all sorts of problems. And he had no doubt Tsukiyo would ensure it got out.

"Is it necessary?" he got out, frantically running through all the pros and cons of this decision. She had never shown any malicious intent towards him and his crew...

"Yes," she said softly. "I only get on ships or in this case, submarines that have given me free passage."

He hesitated. Damn it, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either, he could trust Tsukiyo to, at the very least, not hurt anyone or anything and give her free passage or he could deny her, turn their somewhat friendly relationship sour, and end up with a dead crew and himself stuck on a dying island. He wondered: was this what she had been aiming for from the start? It seemed farfetched, but she was a spymistress. Manipulating people was most likely something she did every morning before breakfast.

Making up his mind, he said in resignation, "Free passage to my submarine." '

Tsukiyo nodded, "Accepted. Lead the way, Surgeon of Death."

Law smirked at his title, his mood lifting slightly. Turning, he began the lengthy trek back to his submarine. The Dark Sorceress followed him, her steps graceful and soundless. It was going to be a long week.

* * *

**Review! And many thanks to my betas Pahreza and MugiwaraMarimo!**


	8. Arrival

**One Piece does not belong to me! But...Tsuki-chan does!**

**Rosy Fire: Free passage may or may not work out. Well, we'll have to see, won't we?**

**Lucy Jacob: Law's a hard character to write, but I think I'm getting the hang of it! If he seems too OOC, let me know! Tsukiyo will get her POV in the future though! As for Doflamingo...Tsukiyo is the most prominent spymistress in the Underworld! This chapter has some info about free passage, hope it answers your questions! :D**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: Okay. Let's go through this one at a time.**

**1st Chapter: Yes, Tsukiyo is beautiful though we don't actually know what she truly looks like and Law suffered terribly during those hours of torture.**

**2nd Chapter: As you've probably already read, Tsukiyo's bounty is quite high. As for whether it's magic...we'll see!**

**3rd Chapter: Nobles are spoiled. Even the easiest of torture breaks them. XD**

**4th Chapter: Tsukiyo is around 5 foot and 9 1/2 inches.**

**5th Chapter:Who knows why Tsukiyo was playing around with Law? Certainly not me...**

**6th Chapter: Law was actually a good dancer. Good enough to know all the dances and keep up with Lyla, anyways. **

**7th Chapter: Well, she is a spymistress. And she's not dumb...**

**Thank you so much for reviewing! **

* * *

**Free Passage**

"I trust you _do_ know all the details of free passage, Law-san." Tsukiyo murmured as they approached his submarine.

Law quirked an eyebrow at the lady walking by his side. "Doubting me, Tsukiyo-ya?"

"Most pirates at your level have either no knowledge of free passage or a rather twisted idea of what it is," She stated calmly.

He smirked even as his mind spun over her words. She had never actually accused him of anything or answered his question, he noted. Instead she had told him a related fact and invited him to draw his own conclusions. Law had no doubts playing word games with the spymistress beside him would be hell. He hadn't missed how she had casually mentioned the difference between their power levels either.

"Free passage is a longstanding invitation to one's transportation." he defined. "While the guest is on the method of transportation, none may hurt him or her without grave reason. The guest may wander as they please so long as they keep away from predetermined areas. If the person of authority chooses to revoke free passage, they must give a three-day warning and deposit the guest on an occupied, relatively safe island. If free passage is broken, said person and their group of people lose all the respect and reliability they have gained on the high seas if the information is leaked."

"Very nice, Law-san." She complimented softly. "Breaking free passage often results in refused alliances and trouble when encountering stronger pirates. It's why, for all that most pirates are unruly and rebellious, all pirates on the Grand Line follow the rules of free passage. They have far too much to lose if they do not."

"Do you think I will break free passage, Tsukiyo-ya?" He asked, climbing aboard the deck and turning to offer a hand to the spymistress.

She took it, letting him help her on. "No." She replied, placing one black high heel and then another onto the deck of his submarine. Tsukiyo met his eyes squarely as she completed her statement. "Not unless you have something great to gain from it or something important that you could lose."

Law stiffened slightly, unprepared for how true her words were. Previously, the Pirate Captain had been torn between two conclusions. One was that Tsukuyomi was an extremely naive, trusting spymistress. It was no coincidence that the whole sentence was practically an oxymoron. The other was that she was so arrogant she believed she was too powerful to be defeated, no matter that she was stepping into a place that could change from a haven to a graveyard with a single command. That too, was unlikely. Tsukiyo was a mystery with more facets than the largest, more chiseled jewel, but Law truly did not believe she was an arrogant person.

Now, Law found he was wrong on both accounts. Tsukiyo was not blindly trusting him not to betray her nor was she preparing herself to wake up in the middle of the night to a knife at her throat. No, she _knew_ how his mind worked, how he made his decisions. And that was a conclusion more terrifying than his previous ones combined.

"And yet, here you are, on my submarine." He forced himself to say with the same casual tone he had used before.

The black-haired lady turned those dark blue eyes on his own. Like the sharpest sword ever made, those eyes sliced through his defenses, seemed to stare straight into his soul. "Perhaps the time will come when you break free passage," she said softly, "but for now, I'm the only chance of survival your crew has."

The Captain of the Heart Pirates didn't know what to say to that. To say yes would be to admit to a perilous disadvantage. To say no would be a blatant lie and might offend her. Wanting to get away from those blue, blue eyes, he dropped her hand - and had he been holding it all that time? - and turned towards the door that led below deck. "I need to see to my crewmates."

"Of course." There was nothing tangible he could discern from her serene voice and not for the first time that day, Law cursed how good Tsukiyo was at hiding her true emotions. Yes, it made her a greater challenge, drove him to discover who she truly was, but really, it was so damn annoying!

**Infection**

"Captain!" Shachi called out in surprise and relief when he opened the door of the sick bay to see Law standing right outside. He blinked when he noticed his Captain's companion. "Tsukiyo-chan?"

"Shachi-san." Tsukiyo greeted politely while Law looked annoyed.

"Who's sick, Shachi?" He snapped out curtly.

"Oh!" On reflex, his mechanic straightened up in response to that tone of voice. "Teion, Ebi, and Kaiso are all sick. They said they were cursed while on the island."

Law frowned. Teion was his shipwright and the man was in no way weak. Ebi was his chef and Kaiso was one of his main fighters. Neither of them were weak either. This wasn't good.

"How did this happen?" he questioned.

"To be honest, we're not sure." Shachi admitted. "Penguin and I were watching over the sub when they came running in. All of them were stumbling and moving like they were drunk."

"The first stage is infection." Law heard Tsukiyo mutter under her breath, but Shachi didn't seem to notice.

"When we went to help them, they screamed that they were cursed and that we shouldn't touch them." The mechanic continued. "Then, somehow, they dragged themselves here and on to the beds. Around 10 minutes ago, they started..."

"Started what?" the Pirate Captain barked impatiently when his crewmate trailed off.

"Screaming." Shachi said hesitantly.

Law stared. "Screaming." he repeated blankly.

"Yeah, they started screaming and thrashing around, begging for the pain to stop. We had to tie them down." the red-haired man confirmed.

"Did anyone touch them with their bare hands?" Tsukiyo cut in, a rare edge to her voice.

Law turned to look at her, interested. What had she said before? Skin to skin contact spreads the 'curse'.

Shachi blinked in confusion, but responded, "No. We all wore gloves."

"Good." She said simply and lapsed back into silence again.

Realizing she would say nothing more, Law turned back to interrogating Shachi. "Who has been in there with them?"

"Penguin and Etzel." he replied promptly. "Bepo came by but ran out again, screaming about how it stank."

Law narrowed his eyes. He knew Bepo had a much keener sense of smell than humans and could smell things that were invisible to the rest of the crew. "Alright, gather up the rest of the crew and inform them about what has happened. Tell them we are to stay on the submarine from now on. If anyone sees any of the sick townsfolk coming up to us, shoot them from afar. Under no circumstances should anyone touch one of them. And everyone stays out of the sick bay."

"Hai, Captain." Shachi turned to leave, but suddenly, Law held up a hand.

"Also. Tsukiyo, here," - he gestured to the silent lady - "is now a guest here on the submarine. Describe her and tell the crew that she is off limits. No reason except murder will be considered acceptable if there is an attack on her person when she is on the sub."

Shachi outright gaped at his Captain. He had never done something like this before!

"Now!" he demanded. The mechanic gulped and went off to do as commanded.

Law sighed and glanced at his quiet...ally. She was peering at the door thoughtfully. As if feeling his gaze on her, she turned to look at him.

"Are you prepared for what you find beyond that door, Law-san?" She asked.

He frowned. "I'm this crew's doctor as well as Captain."

"That may be so, but this 'curse' is quite cruel. Your nakama will not be in a pretty state." Tsukiyo warned him.

Law scoffed. "I'm the Surgeon of Death," He reminded her. "I'm very much used to seeing people in a not-pretty state upon my operation table."

"Yes," she mused. "There is that, isn't there?"

Without waiting for a response, Tsukiyo stepped towards the door and put her hand on the doorknob. "Ready, Surgeon of Death?"

Law smirked.

**Agony**

Law quickly figured out that Tsukiyo had not been joking when she had said Teion, Ebi, and Kaiso would be in a bad state.

All three of them were bound to their beds with the chains he usually used with his victims. Eyes dilated and face red, they were screaming shrilly when the two walked in.

"Stop! Make it stop! Please!" Teino howled.

The sound sent a shiver down Law's spine. Out of all of his crew, Teino had one of the highest pain tolerances. He simply wasn't used to hearing his shipwright scream like that. Like someone was shredding his soul with a cheese grater.

Penguin and Etzel were leaning against the side wall, watching the three in worry.

"Captain!" they exclaimed upon seeing him, pushing off the wall and making their way to Law.

Both mechanic and swordsman noticed the lady who had entered after him at the same time.

Penguin's eyes widened and he gaped at the darkly dressed woman. "Ts-tsukiyo-chan?" he stuttered.

Etzel's reaction was the utter opposite. He narrowed his eyes at her, sending her a glare. "What is _she_ doing here, Captain?" he asked harshly.

"Sh-" Law started to say, but was abruptly interrupted by blonde Kaiso.

"The pain! Stop it! It hurts!" he shrieked.

Law scowled. "Find Shachi and he'll explain." he yelled over the noise.

Penguin and Etzel nodded, the former still looking confused and the latter still looking a mix between murderous and upset. They left.

Sighing, Law put on gloves and started to diagnose Teino. Sweaty, dilated eyes, unresponsive, and from the sounds of it, in extreme pain.

There was no noise that he could hear - although that might have been because of the screams - but, his sharp eyes caught a flicker of black to his right. A second later, Tsukiyo stepped up silently to focus on his shipwright.

"The second stage is agony." She whispered.

"Agony?" Law repeated, glancing over to look at the lady's face. She looked...thoughtfully pensive with a touch of sadness.

"Agony." Tsukiyo confirmed. "Unrelenting agony beyond compare."

* * *

**Review! And much thnxs to my betas Pahreza and MugiwaraMarimo!**


	9. Mistake

**One Piece does not belong to me. Nor will it ever I suppose...**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: *gasp* I could never think to leave one of my reviewers hanging! O.O Who knows what that curse is doing...**

**RosyFire: You're welcome! Etzel is Etzel. Maybe he'll warm up to her. Maybe.**

**Lucy Jacob: You're welcome, too! Eeh, well they were mostly classic dancing. I really can't see Law doing a circle dance either...**

* * *

**Explanation**

Law peeled off his gloves with intent focus even as his mind whirled over what he had discovered. Both Ebi and Kaiso had the same symptoms as Teion. Dilated eyes, high temperatures, unconsciousness, and unbearable pain. It matched nothing he had ever encountered and he had never read of anything that created symptoms like this.

Frowning, he turned his eyes on the Dark Sorceress. Tsukiyo sat on a chair nearby Kaiso, her legs crossed, and her hands over each other on the arm rest, looking every inch the noble woman. She was staring at the blonde fighter, her eyes distant. If the Heart Pirate Captain concentrated enough, he could see the silver shield that enveloped her.

"Tsukiyo-ya." he called over the screams, bringing her attention to him. "I think it's time for the explanation you owe me."

She blinked slowly. "Yes." She said simply, gracefully untangling herself and rising to her feet. "But not here."

In response, Law raised a hand and beckoned her to follow him. Leaving the sick bay, he graciously opened the door for her, and closed it firmly behind him. Turning, he led her to his office and gestured for her to sit. She did so, crossing her legs, and resting her chin on her left hand, her other hand lying on the arm rest carelessly.

Her eyes flicked over his office and he knew that in that one glance, she had taken in everything: the messy desk, the scores of medical books, and the stacks of folders. Upon sitting down, Tsukiyo closed her eyes for a moment and the silver shield around her shimmered and disappeared.

"What," She asked when he sat down on his comfortable swivel chair in front of his desk. "do you want to know?"

He gazed at her closely. "Everything. I need to know everything you know about this 'curse'."

The spymistress considered, her free hand lightly tapping on the arm rest. "And what will you give me in return?"

Law narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"

Tsukiyo leaned forward slightly. "Information."

Of course. What else would a spymistress want? She certainly didn't need money, she had told him so herself that day in Enrique's mansion.

"What information do you want?" He questioned, well aware he was playing a dangerous game with a deadly opponent. One wrong move and she could, would wipe him out.

The lady was silent for a few moments, her eyes wandering over his office. Law resisted the urge to fidget, not sure whether she was trying to make him nervous or merely trying to decide what she wanted. Possibly a mix of the two.

Her dark blue eyes landed on his folders and stayed there. The pirate felt a chill go down his spine when she looked back at him. "The medical records. In exchange for this information, I want the medical records of all your crewmates as well as you, yourself, Law-san."

Law stiffened, inwardly spitting out every swear and curse he knew. He subtely lowered his head, allowing his hat to shadow his eyes. If he gave the lady what she wanted, she would have the names, ages, and past injuries of every person in his crew. She would also know about their allergies and weak points. It would be child's play to destroy his crew with that information.

On the other hand, he needed the information about the 'curse' Tsukiyo had or he wouldn't have a crew. Choices, choices...

"I'll give you the medical records of my crew, but not myself, Tsukiyo-ya." He decided.

She tilted her head slightly. "Is that your final offer?"

Law hesitated. "No."

Tsukiyo smiled lightly. "Medical records of your crew and yourself that I'll give back within a month."

Like that was any better. "Only my crew but I'll give you the basic information of myself."

"Medical records of your crew and yourself and I'll make you a promise to never use them against you."

It was a good offer. A very good offer. Irresistible, even. But...

"What guarantee do I have that you will keep your word?" He asked, knowing it could be construed as an insult.

Bizarrely, she seemed merely amused by a question others would react to with fists and anger. "I'm a spymistress, Law-san. My word, my honor is the only thing I can give you."

Yes...and she was a prominent spymistress, he knew that. If she were to go back on her word, she would lose business and respect.

"Deal. I'll give you the records after my men are cured." He told her.

"Very well." The dark-haired woman hummed softly, her eyes lowering to half-mast.

**Mistake**

"This 'curse' originally started out as a mistake." She began, her mind evidently somewhere far away.

"A mistake?" The Pirate Captain prompted.

The lady glanced at him, her blue, blue eyes unreadable. "Yes, a mistake. A failed experiment made by a doctor playing with poison."

"This doctor had a bit of temper, you see. His lab was on a ship, actually, but by pure coincidence, the doctor landed on this island as he was conducting his experiment. " She continued. "The villagers welcomed him and he chose to stay for a few days. On the third day, however, his experiment failed and he was left with a beaker of disappointing poison he had no use for."

Law was beginning to see how this would play out.

"In a fit of childish anger, he threw the beaker of poison into the river that runs through the island and left. But, that beaker of poison staying in the river and over time, it became diluted. Gradually, it combined with the river water and became something even more horrifying." Tsukiyo murmured in a voice so soft he had to lean forward to hear her. "The villagers drank that water and watered their plants with it. Inevitably, within a week of the doctor's departure, the entire village became sick. With pitiful technology and ignorant healers, it became the ghost town you saw very quickly."

The Surgeon of Death frowned. "Why hasn't this...disease spread past the village? This is an island on the Grand Line the log pose points to. There must have been other pirate crews that have come yet there hasn't been any mention of a plague in the newspapers."

"Other pirate crews have come," She stated ambiguously.

The Heart Captain's mind spun quickly; rapidly piercing together the pieces he had been given and promptly came to a disturbing conclusion.

He stared at her. "You stopped them." The clues were all there. She had known about the origin of the disease and she had been the only coherent person on that island. Tsukiyo had already displayed a dislike towards the disease and he certainly hadn't seen any abandoned pirate ships near the coast. She would have been the one person capable of stopping other pirate ships from going near the infected people. From her bounty, she had the strength to do it.

Her gaze was intense, too intense. "I will not see this disease spread across the Grand Line, Law-san."

The rookie pirate suddenly felt very cold though he didn't show it. "And yet, you let my submarine onto this island and did not stop my crew and I from exploring.

"No." the Dark Sorceress confirmed serenely. "Why do you think that is, Doctor?"

Law scowled; why would he know? There was no reason for her to single him out. What did he have that none of the others did...?

Blood chilling, he abruptly realized she had told him the reason herself.

"It's because I'm a doctor." He said, his grey eyes meeting her blue ones. "And you want me to find a cure for this disease."

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**Review! And...cliff hanger? Sorry! Thanks to my betas MugiwaraMarimo and Pahreza! XD**


	10. Stages

**One Piece does not belong to me~**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: Oh, she's having fun all right! Personally, I think she'll have even more fun when the disease thing is over and she can get back to torturing Law. Not that she's not doing a bad job right now...**

**Rosy Fire: I like to think all my characters all badass, but yes, Tsuki is quite special in that area! XD**

**iiILurvePancakesii: And the plot thickens...*dramatic music in background***

**Lucy Jacob: No problemo! *gasps* You compared me to Oda-sensei! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am not worthy! **

* * *

_Before:_

_Law scowled; why would he know? There was no reason for her to single him out. What did he have that none of the others did...?_

_Blood chilling, he abruptly realized she had told him the reason herself._

_"It's because I'm a doctor." He said, his grey eyes meeting her blue ones. "And you want me to find a cure for this disease."_

* * *

**Rage**

Tsukiyo's face didn't change, remaining serene and neither confirming nor denying his conclusion. "I'm a poisons mistress, Law-san. I deal in antidotes if necessary, not diseases."

Frankly, that was an affirmation as far as Law was concerned.

He narrowed his grey eyes; anger, cold and terrifyingly rational, sliding through his veins. "I don't like being used, Tsukiyo-ya. In fact, I like it about as much as I like people harming my crew and people ordering me around." In other words, not at all.

She paused. Considered that, her eyes lowering to half-mast. "I can understand that." She said to his surprise. He hadn't expected her to agree with him, but then again, since when has Tsukiyo ever been predictable? "But, this was nothing personal, Law-san. You are in this situation purely because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Law gritted his teeth and lightly rested a hand on the nodachi lying beside his side. "Three of my crewmates are in my sick bay, Tsukuyomi-ya."

The lady blinked at her full 'name', her gaze flickering over to his hand. "Careful, kaizoku-san. You're becoming dangerously close to breaking free passage."

His hand clenched on Kikoku. "Three of my crewmates. You could have prevented this. I cannot break free passage if it has already been broken." He told her, resisting the urge to draw his blade and lunge for her neck.

Tsukiyo frowned thoughtfully, still fully relaxed despite the subtle threat. "No. You offered me free passage after your crewmates caught the disease." She shook her head.

The Supernova scowled, but released his weapon. Loopholes were all good and well so long as they weren't used against him. His anger hovered around him in a near visible cloud.

She sighed and straightened up. "Why are you so angry, Trafalgar Law?"

He glared at her, eyes flashing. It hadn't slipped past him that this was the first time she had ever used his full name. In return for him doing so earlier, maybe? "Why? You all but personally spread the disease on this island to my crewmates and you ask me why?"

"I did not mean to endanger your crew," The blue-eyed woman told him.

He scoffed. "No? Yet, you did not inform me of the conditions surrounding the island like you did the other pirate crews. You did not stop us from landing and you didn't turn us away. I would say that counts as purposefully endangering my crew, Tsukiyo-ya."

The lady contemplated this for a moment. Frowned. "Law-san, you guys travel around in a submarine," She reminded him dryly. "There was no way for me to anticipate your arrival; I do not have a built in radar. As soon as you and your crew landed, you split your crew up into groups. How could I have tailed each and every group of your crew? By the time I got to your crewmates, one was already infected and the other two had already touched him. There was nothing I could do, but send them back to your sub."

Despite his annoyance and displeasure, Law had to admit she made sense. Still, it grated on him to know this could have been avoided.

"Anyhow, if I had managed to get on your sub and told you of the circumstances surrounding the island, would you have left?" She asked, a knowing glint in her eyes.

Probably not. Law knew himself, knew he probably wouldn't have been able to pass up a challenge like a new, never before studied disease. That wasn't the point though. "None of my crewmates would have been infected." He retorted, but he had calmed down by now. Absently, he realized Tsukiyo was very good at talking her way out of things.

The Dark Sorceress shook her head and changed the subject. "Do you want what I have on this disease, now?"

"Very well." He grabbed a pen and a notebook.

She nodded gracefully.

**Stages**

"This disease has about 5 stages." Tsukiyo said, twirling a strand of her dark hair around her pointer finger.

"The first stage in contamination or infection. As I've said, it can happen through skin to skin contact and polluted water or food. The second stage is agony. The disease attacks the nerves, from what I have observed."

"Wait. You haven't diagnosed this personally?" He cut in, still writing.

"No. I did what I could, but I did not risk contracting the disease myself. Until now, I was the only person alive with the knowledge of this disease. If I died, the results would have been disastrous."

Law disapproved, but at the same time he understood her reasons. "Go on."

"The third stage is fever. The victim gets fevers that range from 100 to 106 degrees. They get chills and hallucinations around this time. During this time, they also become violent and unpredictable depending on their strength."

"Depending on their strength?" He repeated.

"The strong ones may become violent. The weak ones can't move from their beds." She elaborated. "When their fever goes down, the fourth stage becomes evident. The victim grows boils all over his body. They are quite painful to say the least."

"And the fifth stage is death." He guessed, writing furiously, though Tsukiyo doubted she would be able to read it. Doctors really did have bad handwriting.

"Yes." She grimaced. "The victim's heart and lungs begin to fail and once convulsions begin, they die within 5 minutes."

"And you say this all happens around five days?" He glanced up.

She tilted her head, eyes pensive. "The strong ones survive five days. The weak ones vary. The shortest time I've observed is two and a half days. During the stages, the victim's blood gradually turns black. I'm still not sure why."

Law frowned and leaned back into his chair. From the sounds of it, this disease sounded extremely deadly. More interestingly, he had never read of anything like this before. If his crewmates weren't in the sickbay, suffering terribly, he mused to himself, he might even have had fun working something like this out.

Abruptly, he slammed his notebook shut and rose to his feet. Time to go to work. Law looked down at the elegant woman in front of him, his eyes shadowed by the brim of his hat. "You said you were a poisons mistress, Tsukiyo-ya?"

She blinked at him, long lashes - the longest he had ever seen - brushing her cheeks. "I am."

"Good." He turned towards the door. "This disease started from a poison, you can assist me with finding the antidote. The lab is this way."

Law opened the door for her, not sure why he was doing this. Yes, in part it was because he wanted to get back at her for besting him several times and it was a method of judging her abilities regarding medicine. He was curious about her secrets and he did want to break through her shields. It was an ego booster to order around this powerful woman, but those were all excuses, he knew that in the back of his mind.

For some reason, he wasn't surprised when she smiled softly in response to his orders. He was getting used to her doing the exact opposite of what she was supposed to do. Rising smoothly, her dress falling around her in perfect folds, she silently walked out the door, She didn't thank him; taking it as her due.

Quietly, Law closed the door and led the lady with the 350 million bounty to his lab where he planned to see just where her boundaries in taking orders from someone weaker than she was were. He hoped she would surprise him.

* * *

**Review~ Thanks to my betas Pahreza and MugiwaraMarimo.**


	11. Lab

**One Piece is not mine. Regrettably. And with much tears. Oooh and I have a poll on my profile! What character from the Mage Series do you like the most? *hint: you need to read all three for a good idea* Please vote!  
**

**Notice for 08/23/14:**

For those who read my stories, be warned that as school comes, I will not be able to update them as often! That is particularly true for Moon Mage and Sun Mage as I have to catch Wild Mage up.

Both Law and Kid are already in the Grand Line by this point, but Luffy isn't so the time line is all screwed up. Plus, Kid's further along than Law and we can't have that, can we?

Other than that, nothing else is amiss so enjoy!

**Lucy Jacob: Maybe he will...maybe he won't! Stay tuned! XP**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: I know right...if only.**

**Rosy Fire: Why, thank you!**

**Alice: Good to know! Thanks for reviewing!**

**sticy17: You got it!**

* * *

**Lab**

To Law's surprise and relief, Tsukiyo was quite good in the lab. She evidently knew her way around and knew of most, if not all, of the equipment. Strangely enough, she also didn't have any problems with taking his orders.

"Tsukiyo-ya?" He questioned four hours in while trying to analyze a sample of the polluted river water she had had with her.

"Yes?" His temporary assistant didn't look up from trying to figure out the ingredients of the original poison. She had managed to extract it from the river an hour ago.

"Why are you fine with me giving you orders?" He asked curiously, his eyes still on the river water. Whatever were those little black things and was that a silver tint...?

"Hmm...are you referring to yourself as a rookie pirate captain while I'm a veteran of the Grand Line or merely the fact that I'm following any orders at all?" Her voice remained utterly calm and serene despite her words.

Law twitched. Just because he knew and accepted he was a newcomer to the Grand Line didn't mean he liked hearing it. "Both, I suppose."

Tsukiyo laughed softly. It was a soothing sound, like waves on the beach. "I don't have any problems with commands, Law-san. People may give me all the orders they wish. Whether I follow them or not is my decision."

"An interesting attitude." He noted. It was also, he thought to himself, in direct contrast with his own. He despised people telling him what to do.

"It's much easier to go with the flow than fight against the tide," She said, abruptly rising to her feet. "If I may..?"

Law glanced up to see her gesturing towards his bookshelf. "Go ahead." He told her, uncertain as to why she needed the books.

He watched as she walked soundlessly to the books, her eyes quickly scanning the titles. A few minutes later, she picked out two and returned to her seat.

The doctor raised an eyebrow as he returned to staring at his own sample. "'Obscure Chemicals and Their Uses' and 'Poisonous Herbs Around the Grand Line', Tsukiyo-ya?"

"Some of the ingredients that doctor put in here...I don't know what he was thinking." She replied, a trace of frustration in her voice.

"That bad?" Law questioned, put on guard. Tsukiyo was knowledgeable in poisons, one of the most well-informed individuals he had ever met. If she was having problems with some of those ingredients...

"Worse." She said bluntly.

The Pirate Captain frowned and turned his complete focus on his task. They needed to hurry.

**Coffee**

"I've got it." Tsukiyo spoke up one day later. Neither of them had slept, taking only short breaks.

"The poison?" Law looked up, eyes wide. That poison had been _complicated_. It would have been a miracle for two doctors to unravel it in three days. Yet, here she was, claiming to have done it in just under 22 hours.

"Yes." She confirmed and he couldn't help but notice that for all her achievement, she didn't look very happy.

Frowning thoughtfully, he spun around to stare at her. "Let's hear it then."

"The petals of the deadly widow in powder form and the syrup of the crimson vine combined with mercury and bromine." The Dark Sorceress said. "Traces of berries of belladonna, roots of cicuta, and leaves of black nightshade."

Law stared. "Those are all highly poisonous ingredients. How on earth did he get them to work together?"

"He didn't. I imagine this doctor was an amateur at poisons. From the looks of it, he put them all in a pot and expected an efficient and lethal poison by the end of the day."

Pressing his lips together, the Surgeon of Death grabbed a fresh piece of paper and a pen. "Repeat the ingredients."

"Deadly widow, crimson vine, mercury, bromine, belladonna, cicuta, and black nightshade." Sighing, Tsukiyo reached up a hand and tucked some rebellious strands of black hair behind her ear.

Scribbling it down, the Heart Pirates' doctor narrowed his eyes at the list. "I'm not very familiar with deadly widow and crimson vine, but I know the rest."

"Deadly widow is a beautiful black flower. It flourishes in winter islands of the Grand Line. The petals are highly poisonous and are known for staining whatever they touch a black color." The lady explained, leaning back in her chair. "Crimson vine is a bright red vine that grows in summer islands. Their syrup is known for causing boils and sores."

"I see." He wrote down the effects of the two plants next to their names on his sheet.

"You said you know the rest, Law-san?"

"Yes." He began to write on the paper as he described them to Tsukiyo. "Mercury poisoning causes profuse sweating, peripheral neuropathy or extreme pain. Bromism is caused by an excess of bromine. It causes hallucinations, weakness, stupor, and coma. Belladonna is responsible for dilated pupils, flushing, hallucinations, delirium, and convulsions. Cicuta can cause seizures, weakness, and dizziness. Death can occure by respiratory failure. The symptoms of black nightshade are fever and sweating. It can kill with cardiac arrhythmias and respiratory failure as well."

"They all fit in well with what we know of the disease." She observed, her eyes calm.

"Yes." A feeling of excitement bubbled up in Law. They were getting somewhere now. "Do you know the antidotes for these components, Tsukiyo-ya?"

The poisons mistress blinked and closed her eyes in thought. "The antidote to the deadly widow is the pollen of the shy veil. The seeds of the longing tree is the antidote for the crimson vine. Mercury poison can be cured with 2,3-Dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid or DMPS. Furosemide helps bromism. Calabar bean cures belladonna. Lorazepam should help with cicuta. For black nightshade, physostigmine should do the trick."

Truly, he reflected. Tsukiyo was a marvelous poisons mistress. "I don't have some of those ingredients." Law said upon finishing writing down all the components they needed.

She opened her eyes and titled her head slightly. It seemed to be a habit of hers. "What don't you have?" The lady asked.

He looked down at the list. "Pollen of the shy veil, seeds of the longing tree, and calabar bean. I have everything else."

Tsukiyo nodded and rose to her feet, her movements graceful despite her lack of sleep. "I'll have it for you in around 3 hours."

At the door she paused and glanced back at him, "You should get some sleep, Law-san. You'd be much more handsome if you didn't have those shadows under you eyes."

Quietly, she disappeared into the shadows of the submarine.

Law stared after her, his tired mind trying to make sense of her parting words. Was that a compliment or an insult?

Groaning, he rubbed at his face. He was too tired for this shit!

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**I know there's not a lot of romance, but don't worry! We'll get there! Review, review, review! Reviews make me happy! A happy author equals faster updates!  
**


	12. Coffee

**One Piece does not belong to me! TT-TT I wish it did...**

**Aaahh. Sorry for the delay guys. Catching up with school and all that. Hm...looks like Tsuki-chan is winning the poll right now!**

**This chapter is rather short, but let it it tide you over till all the real action starts!**

**Lucy Jacob: Oh goodie! This is going to one of those nice and slow stories...**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: They were worse than from his first appearance. Sorry XD It was necessary. No science stuff this chapter, I promise! Thanks!**

**Alice: Thank you! That's so sweet!**

* * *

**Trip**

Tsukuyomi, the best spymistress in the Grand Line - and most likely the world-, teleported herself directly onto the submarine of Trafalgar Law.

Appearing without a sound or gleam in his lab, she automatically ran her gaze over the entire room. No one was present and the equipment was still exactly as it had been when she left. She frowned thoughtfully. Where, oh where, was the Surgeon of Death?

She stepped soundlessly out of the dark corner she had been and gently placed the ingredients she had acquired on a spare table. She could start making an antidote immediately, of course, but she didn't need an antidote to that atrocious poison. No, she needed a cure to the Black Magician's Curse. And Law-san was her key to getting that.

Gliding back, she absently flicked a shield in place and closed her eyes. Stretching out her senses to cover the entire submarine, she instinctively cataloged everyone she knew. Let's see: Shachi was in the engine room with Penguin, Bepo and Etzel Aurik were with quite a large amount of their crewmates in a large room that she suspected was the galley. Predictably, Teion, Ebi, and Kaiso were in the sick bay. And Law, Law-san was in the Captain's cabin. Resting, she determined.

Unbidden, a small smile curved her lips. So, he had taken her advice to heart. Focusing on his presence, she was about to teleport right to him, but suddenly realized it was getting very late. And Law-san had had only 3 and 1/2 hours of sleep during her absence.

A detour, she determined. Directing her attention to another part of the sub, she felt the familiar tilting as her world shifted. And opened her eyes to see the wrong end of a gun.

**Suspicious**

Theron, assistant cook of the Heart Pirates, was not in a good mood. Three of his nakama were in the sick bay - one being _his_ head cook - his Captain was nowhere to be seen, and the whole lot of his other nakama were moping out in _the_ galley. No, Theron was not in a good mood.

So, it was understandable that when a stranger in black appeared directly in front of him, he immediately cocked his gun at her right?

He frowned when the stranger opened her eyes and didn't react in the slightest. He knew it took nerves of steel not to flinch at the sight of a gun pointed straight at you. For this stranger, this woman to retain her perfectly calm composure, he doubted the chances of her being powerlessness.

"This greeting is rather cold, Cook-san." She said to him, her voice tranquil and melodic.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeh, well, comin into meh kitchen without knocking ain't nice either."

Gun never wavering, he took in the woman in front of him. At 43, Theron was not foreign to beautiful woman, but he had to admit, she was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Her long black hair was wrapped up in a tight bun at the nape of her neck and the blue sapphire studs in her ears emphasized her striking eyes. She wore a black knee-length dress that was off-shoulder and just a little asymmetrical, showing off the flawless skin at her collarbone without any cleavage. The sleeves went up to her elbows and while modest, the dress was pulled snugly against her upper body. Flowing free from the waist on, the dress was short enough to see her black high heels. Exquisite.

"Done with my examination?" She asked in amusement. With a start, Theron realized he had been staring at her like a horny teenage boy.

Flushing, he hurriedly stammered out a, "So-sorry, Miss."

Abruptly remembering the situation, Theron shoved his embarrassment down and barked, "Why are ya here, Miss, and why shouldn't I shoot ya right now?"

"Hmm." The dazzling woman didn't seem the slightest disturbed by his words. "I'm here because I would like some coffee and as for why you shouldn't shoot me, why should you shoot me?"

His brow furrowed. "Coffe'? And Captain ordered us to shoot all villagers tha approached us ta avoid gettin the disease." Resolve found, he lifted his gun a little higher and his trigger finger tightened.

Bizarrely, she smiled. "Perhaps, but I believe he also mentioned a guest you shouldn't hurt."

Guest? What was she...Oh. Dimly, Theron remembered Shachi mentioning a woman in black called Tsukiyo that was their Captain's guest. And one that he had said they expressively should not harm.

Gulping, he nonetheless didn't lower his gun. "What's your name, lass?"

Her smile widened. "Tsukiyo."

Oh. Damn. He winced; lowered his gun. "Sorry 'bout that, Tsukiyo-chan. I was..uhh.. startled and a bit high-strung today."

"It's fine, it's fine." Tsukiyo soothed, looking more than a little amused. "But, I would like a favour if you will."

Theron blinked. "Favour? What is it?"

**Surprise**

Law was drifting in a haze of exhaustion and comfort. Tired...he was so tired...

A smell cut through his sleep and he frowned. He knew that smell, he knew he did. What was it...?

"Time to wake up, Law-san," A gentle, feminine voice murmured close by.

Wake up? No, he didn't want to. He was still so tired...

"No..." He mumbled. Under the fog, Law felt like something wasn't right. Was he missing something?

A calming laugh chimed through the haze. "Yes, Law-san. We have work to do."

Work? What work would he have now? And besides...why was there a voice in his bedroom...?

Law tore through the remaining layers of sleep and snapped his eyes open, wide awake. Sitting straight up in alarm, he scanned his room until he found the interloper.

Sitting casually on a chair by his bed was a very amused Dark Sorceress. Drinking from an elegant champagne flute filled with what looked like expensive red wine, an amused smile played on her dark pink lips. Languidly, she grabbed a coffee cup from the chair's cup holder and offered it to him. "Coffee, Law-san?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, trying to seem unaffected while simultaneously trying to stabilize his shaken equilibrium. "Dare I ask how you got in my room, Tsukiyo-ya?" He took the coffee and took a sip.

"I don't think you want to know," She told him serenely.

Law blinked and looked down at his coffee cup. Hot, but not burning hot, and just how he liked it. "You've been talking to my assistant cook," He accused lightly upon glancing back up.

Her smile turned mysterious. Not answering, Tsukiyo gracefully rose to her feet and glided to the door. "I'll be in your lab," She informed him and left.

Law sighed and got up. Back to work, it was. Really, the one time he wanted to sleep, he couldn't.

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**Review! And thanks to my betas! Oh, and remember to vote in the poll!  
**


	13. Burn

**Me: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.**

**Law:...get over it already, author-ya.**

**Me: Bu-but, I took such a long time getting this chapter ready! It's not fair to my readers!**

**Tsukiyo: I wasn't your fault, author-san.**

**Me: *cries into her hands***

**Tsukiyo: Sorry, dear readers. But our author-san was quite caught up with school. Do forgive her.**

**Me:...please?**

**Tsukiyo: One piece does not belong to author-san.**

**Law: And neither do I. *pointed look***

**Me:...*sobs***

**Tsukiyo:...remember to vote in the poll now. I am two votes behind Nausicaa-chan. I cannot say I am happy.**

**Me and Law: *slowly inches away from her***

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: Yeah, I don't much like coffee either. But as school goes on, I'm sure I'll get dependent on it sooner or later...**

* * *

**Antidote**

Law got to his lab to see Tsukiyo had already laid out all the ingredients on the central table and was eyeing them from her chair.

Raising an eyebrow, he strode in and quickly assessed the materials. On the table, there was a jar of black beans. Calabar beans for belladonna. Next to it was a vial light purple dust. Pollen from the shy veil. It was strange to see purple pollen, but then this _was_ the Grand Line. There was another vial near it; this one was black. DMPS, most likely. A bottle that contained furosemide behind that and a bottle that held lorazepam next to it. Finally, a sealed cylinder of physostgmine and a a packet of pink seeds. Most likely from the longing tree.

All but the pollen and seeds were from his own cabinets. How she had found them, he didn't know, but remembering her response to how she got into his locked bedroom, he said nothing.

Instead, he inquired without looking up, "Are you familiar with the shy veil and the longing tree, Tsukiyo-ya? I assume they are native to the Grand Line."

"You would be correct." Her soft, musical voice answered. "The shy veil is a flower grown in spring islands. It has distinctive purple pollen and is known to close up if anything comes close to it, making it rather difficult to gather it's medical pollen. The longing tree is a tree that takes up to 300 years to reach its maturity on autumn islands. Very rare and valuable. It's said that those that eat a flower of the tree that grow every 50 years will receive the love of the one they are longing for."

He turned around to gaze at her questioningly. "Do you believe that?"

Tsukiyo hummed softly, her face unreadable. "I...believe that if even if the myth is true, the relationship will inevitably end up corrupted by the cohersion.

Law narrowed his eyes. "I see." He walked over to his chair and took a seat. What now?

"I presume you checked up on your crewmates?" She murmured into the silence.

He blinked, not expecting the question. "Yes, after you left. They're still in pain, but I did notice Teion's temperature being higher than normal."

"So, he's entering the third stage. Has it risen to a fever yet?"

"No. I also took samples of their blood."

She frowned thoughtfully. "Has it turned black yet?"

"Not quite. But it's darker than usual." He held one up to the light so she could see for herself. "After I finish examining the river water, I will look at the samples."

She glanced at him shrewdly. "So you want me to find the antidote to the poison."

Law smirked, putting down the blood sample. Smart, so very smart was Tsukiyo. "Objections, Tsukiyo-ya?"

"No." She replied simply. Rising from her chair in a swift movement, she grabbed a vial of potion and meandered over to her microscope, evidently going to concentrate on her job from here on out.

He watched, fascinated with the contradiction that the lady presented. Tsukiyo was graceful, but did not waste movements. She was utterly concentrated on her work, yet was fully aware of her surroundings. She boarded his submarine based on his word, knowing the consequences, but understood him enough to know that he could turn on her in a second.

It was all quite strange, he mused, even as he turned his attention back to his own work. Quite strange...and quite interesting.

**Hand**

Law had completely lost track of time.

He was pretty sure night had fallen a few hours ago, but there really was no way to check.

Upon determining the river water was very, very polluted, he had moved on to the blood samples. From what he could see, the deadly widow was staining the hemoglobins in the red cells black and that was what was making the blood appear black. More importantly, it also seemed to be destroying the white blood cells.

About three hours ago, he had started on the actual disease strain. Tsukiyo was right; it looked like the doctor was a complete dimwit at poisons. There was no structure, at all...

His train of thought was abruptly cut off at the quiet creak disturbing the previously gentle silence. He flicked a glance at his companion to see her rising out of her seat. Law blinked, straightening up.

Tsukiyo had been working on the antidote the whole time and he had to admit, she was a dedicated worker. She hadn't broke focus once during the hours they had been working. They had barely talked as they worked, merely exchanging the basics: would you pass the microscope, may I use that pen?

Although...more than a few times, he had heard her humming softly under her breath. He never managed to catch what tune she was humming; in fact, most of the time it was so quiet he only heard it because of the absolute silence in the room. Each time, by the time he was curious enough to start questioning her on it, she would stop.

Now, she stood up, lightly pushing her seat back. Back straight despite her sitting in that very chair for hours, Tsukiyo began to remove her gloves with calm, efficient movements. Law rose an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. He had never seen the lady with her gloves off. Not once. What was she doing?

Slowly, ever so slowly, those exquisite black lace gloves slipped off, revealing two soft hands with neatly trimmed fingernails. Law couldn't see any imperfections or scars. What was it that led her to wear gloves? Some religion? Mental trauma? And why was she taking them off now?

When both gloves were off, she placed them on the table softly. Turning, she began to walk towards him in confident but demure steps. Law watched her unhurried progress, not sure what she was doing. Stopping a few feet away from him, she offered her left hand to him silently, her face indecipherable.

Law froze. From anyone else, he would have thought she was hitting on him. The Dark Doctor was no stranger to the attentions of beautiful women. With his looks and his charm, he could have anyone he wanted eating out of his palm in seconds.

But, Tsukiyo wasn't like those women who frequented bars and pubs. She was elegant and refined and classy and _sophisticated_. And if there was anything Law knew now, it was that Tsukiyo would not lower herself to those desperate, wanton women who draped themselves all over him given the slightest hint.

"Your hand, Law-san." She prompted softly, a flicker of amusement in her blue, blue eyes.

He hesitated, but rose to his feet and placed his hand on hers. It might have been reckless and dangerous to anyone else, but Law knew, he _knew_ Tsukiyo was not a capricious woman. She would not kill him until it was advantageous for her to do so. He knew it in his gut and his instinct and that was that. Plus, he doubted she would hurt him based on a whim and certainly not now, when she needed him for the antidote.

Her hand was soft and cool and when he touched her, a flicker of electricity sparked between them. Surprised, Law glanced up to see a slightly considering look in her eyes. She said nothing, but closed her eyes and placed her other hand gently on top of his own.

Before he could ask what she was doing, she began to glow a gentle silver. And then that silver glow started to travel from the hand she held to his arm. Faster than he could react, he was covered in a light coating of silver light.

It was...like the rain after a hot summer day. Like drinking ice water after exercising for hours under the summer sun. Like an embrace of moonlight, a blessing of starlight. It was the tranquility of the night and the comfort of the ocean waves and Law found his eyes closing in bliss. Every muscle in his body relaxed and it was all he could do to stay on his feet. For a few euphoric moments, he was utterly at peace. One with the world. There was only contentment; all problems and misery and _darkness_ washed away. It was peace at its most potent. A glimpse of heaven.

A minute later, an eternity later, that ambrosial silver power retreated and Law opened his eyes. Without a word, Tsukiyo dropped his hand and opened her eyes to meet his.

"What.." He asked slowly. "...have you done?"

She _looked_ at him, those midnight eyes perceptive. So very perceptive. Walking back to start tugging on her gloves, she remained silent. Law waited patiently, watching those slender fingers become encased in black lace once again. When those gloves were on to her satisfaction, Tsukiyo shifted to face him.

"I burned the poison out of your system." She told him.

He quirked one eyebrow at her. "_Burned _the poison out of my system?"

A small, almost forced smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "You've been working on that disease for three hours, Law-san. In addition, you've been in close contact with the victims. Did you think you would be immune for some reason?"

Thoughtfully tapping his finger against the deck, Law considered that. No, he hadn't thought he would be immune - he wasn't that arrogant nor was he a fool - but he had made sure he had never touched his infected nakama. Was it possible just being near the victims could transfer some aspect of the disease? And there was still the matter of what Tsukiyo had done...

"So, you burned the disease out of me." He repeated.

"Yes. You'd be no use to me nor your crewmates if you ended up in your sick bay yourself." She stated matter-of-factly.

He didn't take offense. It was true, after all. But..."If you can burn the disease out of others, you could have helped my crewmates and those villagers, Tsukiyo-ya."

Tsukiyo shook her head, taking a seat. "I am not omnipotent, Law-san. I was only able to get the disease out of your system, because it hadn't had time to take hold yet. It was just barely in the first stage. I can't help your crewmates and I couldn't help the villagers. I suspect keeping you and myself clean for the length of time it will take you to find the antidote will wear on me heavily." She admitted and for the first time, he heard a trace of wariness in her voice.

Frowning marginally, the Heart Pirate Captain ran a critical eye over the spymistress. For the first time, he noticed the fatigue in her eyes, the meager slump of her shoulders, her slower than usual movements. It startled him and then, he wondered why he was startled. For all that Tsukiyo was certainly powerful, everyone had their limits.

"When have you last slept?" Law inquired with narrowed eyes.

A flicker of surprise flitted across her eyes. Casually, she placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand. "Concerned? I didn't expect worry from the Surgeon of Death."

He smirked coldly. "You'd be of no use to me if you collapse, Tsukiyo-ya."

The lady smiled wryly at her own words being thrown back at her. "Touché."

"How long?" He pressed.

She tilted her head, her eyelids drifting to half-mast. "A week, I believe."

Law inhaled sharply. A week of no sleep was no small feat. It was amazing she was still able to work and concentrate on a shoddy poison even now. But, no matter her stamina or strength, she would give out soon. Tsukiyo was human; her body needed sleep. "...You can sleep in my quarters."

She blinked, those long, feathery lashes hiding her reaction to his offer. Law was starting to understand the mystery that was Tsukiyo and he had learned that the best way to read her was to watch her eyes. The rest of her face remained serene, but her eyes held her true emotions. Unfortunately, those eyes also seemed to be able to mesmerize him if he stared into them long enough.

"Strange." Tsukiyo commented quietly.

_...to leave me without supervision. To put me out of sight. To give me access to your personal quarters._

It went unsaid, but not unheard. "I don't think you'll want to sleep on the island." Law pointed out, purposefully misunderstanding her comment. "My crewmates won't go into my quarters without permission and I doubt you'll want to sleep with my perverted nakama."

She smiled briefly, dark amusement whispering in her eyes. "I see. In that case, I will see you later, Law-san." Rising out of her seat, she slid noiselessly out the door and was gone.

Law glanced after her consideringly. Did he make the correct choice? Only one way to find out, he thought to himself, turning back to pick apart the disease.

Wait and see.

* * *

**Review! Review, review, review! Oh and thnxs to my betas Pahreza and MugiwaraMarimo. Don't forget about the poll~**

**Oh, and do you think Tsukiyo will be honorable and stay in Law's room or go snooping around?**

**I want to know, I want to know!**


	14. Berserk

**Me: I'm a horrible author.**

**Law: ...not possible. You're writing about me after all.**

**Me: *gasps* So egotistical!**

**Law: *smirks***

**Me: *gasps* So arrogant!**

**Law: *raises an eyebrow***

**Me: *gasps* So cold!**

**Lyla: Stop that!**

**Me: Sorry...**

**Lyla: Oh well! Anyways, Author-chan does not own One Piece! Thank you for reading! Have a good weekend!"**

***Lyla disappears the way she appeared***

**Tsukiyo: Ah. And remember to vote for me in the poll.**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: I've never thought about it that way! But...you may be right...**

**Leyshla Gisel: Welcome to Moon Mage! Hmm..you may be right... (Psst, check out Wild Mage and Sun Mage too!)**

**Alice: Thank you! I did my best. All that research...**

**Lucy Jacob: You're sweet. As for what Tsukiyo uses...that is a mystery! Bwahahaha**

**Guest: Thank you!**

**Ino1693: Really? She does seem kinda similar doesn't she? Just a bit more...ladylike?**

* * *

**Berserk**

Law's attention was caught by the rapid staccato of footsteps outside his lab that indicated running. He looked up, frowning. It had been several hours since he had sent Tsukiyo off and he estimated it was now early morning. What annoyed him was that the Heart Pirate Captain had specifically given orders for his crew not to disturb him.

Of course, there was a possibility that it was the Dark Sorceress, but he very, very, very much doubted it. Tsukiyo's steps were always silent in a way that screamed professional training and if there was a problem, there was no way someone with her training would make so much noise.

A second later, three quick knocks were made upon the door with succession and he called out, "Come in."

The door swung open and Penguin poked his head inside, face red and gasping for air. "Captain!"

"Yes?" He raised a cool eyebrow. "I believe I ordered no disturbances, Penguin."

Penguin gulped, but said, "I know and I'm sorry, but Captain, Teion's going berserk!"

Law blinked. "Berserk..?"

"Uhh, he's running around, attacking people! And he's unconscious!"

"He's unconscious." Law repeated blankly.

Penguin cringed at how ridiculous that sounded, but nodded his head. "His eyes are closed and he's wavering around like he's drunk. We've tried waking him up, but he doesn't respond!"

Law scowled and grabbed his nodachi. So this was the third stage of the disease. He had noted that his cook's temperature had been rising. It was logical for Teion to be able to move and cause chaos - Law hadn't chosen him to be on his crew for nothing - but it was going to be annoying.

"Where is he?!" He snapped, walking out the door and into the corridor with long, quick strides, Penguin struggling to keep up with him.

"U-umm.." The mechanic stuttered.

Law _glared_. "Where?"

Penguin shrinks back, paling. "Near your quarters, Captain."

Shit. Tsukiyo was there and no matter how easygoing she seemed, he couldn't believe she would be happy to wake up to an out-of-control Heart Pirate. The assault could also be seen as a breach of free passage and that would end in disaster. Law narrowed his eyes and hurried faster.

**Strange**

Law rounded the corner that led to his quarters and skid to a halt.

Penguin muttered something that fell short of sophistication by quite a bit and and just barely managed to keep himself from slamming into his Captain. He looked up, ready to curse out whoever or whatever that had caused Law to stop so suddenly, and felt his train of thought abruptly break off. He stared.

Tsukiyo stood in the middle of the hallway, facing the wall, studying what was in front of her with interest. She turned her head to gaze at them, her eyes tranquil as always. Her calm expression didn't really match her surroundings. "Law-san. Penguin-san." She greeted mildly.

Law recovered first. "Tsukiyo-ya. I trust there were no...problems?" It was more of a statement than anything.

Then again, with Teion pinned to the wall beside her with silver ropes and clearly quiescent, it was hard to reach a different conclusion.

She smiled reassuringly, no signs of the weariness that had shown only a few hours ago on her face. "No. There were no problems."

"Err-what did you exactly _do _to Teion, Tsukiyo-chan?!" Penguin burst out, unable to handle the suspense of seeing his friend's head hang down weakly.

She gave him an amused and slightly reprimanding look that made her feel like a scolded child. In answer, Tsukiyo lifted something with her right hand to display to them. It was an empty needle.

"Tranquilizer?" Law asked.

"Yes." The lady confirmed simply. "It's a rather strong one. He'll regain the ability to move in 24 hours, but until then..."

"I understand." He raised his voice sharply and without warning. "Penguin!"

The hatted man jumped. "Yes, Captain?!"

He smirked. "Bring Teion back to the sick bay. Without touching him, mind."

"B-b-but.." The mechanic stuttered. The man was heavy dammit! And he had been doing work all day!

Law looked at him. And Penguin's shoulders slumped.

"Yes, Captain." He said sorrowfully and began the long walk back to the sick bay.

Tsukiyo watched his progress with amused eyes. "You run a tight ship, Law-san."

The Surgeon of Death smiled in satisfaction and shifted the topic. "Do you need more sleep, Tsukiyo-ya?"

"Not particularly, no. Back to the lab it is then?"

In response, Law turned and started back for the work that awaited him, making a mental note to take a peek in the sick bay later. Though he heard no footsteps, he knew without a doubt that Tsukiyo kept pace behind him and for some reason, knowing the lady was following his lead made him oddly pleased.

Law frowned, shoving that feeling deep into his mind as they reached the lab and he opened the door for her. He could examine his strange feelings afterward. For now, he had work to do.

**Yellow**

"Here it is," Tsukiyo murmured three hours later, her voice soft in the silence. She placed a vial filled with a green liquid on top of a piece of paper down in front of Law. "The antidote to that completely absurd poison."

He detected a trace of exasperation in her tone and smiled slightly in amusement. Carefully, he slid the vial of antidote off the paper and picked it up to read it. It held the ingredients for the antidote, the amount, and detailed instructions for how to prepare it. Law had to admit he was impressed: her work was immaculate.

"This would be enough to cure one poisoned victim?" He questioned, looking the directions over and already going over the changes he'd have to make over it to adapt it to the disease.

"Yes. Though there's no telling what it'll do to them, what with the river water's addition."

"...I assume this is the extent of your usefulness for the disease." Law kept his voice bland.

A wry smile touched her face. "You would be correct. Would you like to stash me someplace now, Law-san?"

He smirked languidly. "Why would I do that, Tsukiyo-ya? You are my guest. I must be a good host to you."

A negligible raise of her eyebrow at the mocking thread weaved between his words. "Of course. What would you have me do then?" She asked dryly.

Law considered, lightly tapping his fingers against his armrest in a restless pattern. Such a patient woman was Tsukiyo. Quite indulgent. Just how far did that magnificent serenity go...?

His smirk turned a bit sinister. "You're going to stay with me and keep me company. I am doing this per your request after all. It wouldn't do for me to become lonely, now would it?"

Tsukiyo blinked slowly, those long black eyelashes hiding her reaction to his taunt once more. He found it rather irritating. When her eyes were fully open again, they were inexplicably calm. "Certainly not. I have no qualms against keeping you company so long as you do not find yourself distracted by me. Your crewmates _are_ on a time limit."

He narrowed his eyes, annoyed at both her rebuke and at the fact that he couldn't tell whether it was a casual reminder or payback for his decision to keep her with him for who-knows how long. And for someone accustomed to being able to read people with a flick of storm-grey eyes, Tsukiyo was the metaphorical blindfold.

"True. So if you would sit on that sofa..." Law gestured to the vivid yellow single seat sofa at the corner of the room meaningfully. He had bought it for the times he wanted to read the books in the lab and get away from his rambunctious crew, but he had rarely used it - more often that not because the former reason refused to let him rest.

A glimmer of laughter sparked in her eyes for a moment and was promptly masked away, but not before Law saw it. Gracefully, Tsukiyo crossed the room and sat down on the comfortable sofa, crossing her legs demurely. Against the almost-obnoxious yellow, her dark clothing and hair was striking and somehow, she managed to look as if she belonged perfectly on the thing. No one coming in would assume she had been all but forced into sitting on it. "Favorite color, Law-san?"

It was a fairly rhetorical question, considering she had already taken note of his hoodie and his submarine.

Law gave no affirmation, but smiled smugly and turned back to his work.

**Music**

There was no clock in the lab, but Law estimated that two hours had passed when he heard it.

The gentle music of a string-instrument.

Turning quietly, he took in the scene in front of him with astonishment. Still sitting on the yellow sofa, Tsukiyo had a small, elegant instrument in her hands that Law had only ever seen in books. It was a beautiful instrument; carved from blackwood and strung with strings of silver.

During the two hours, she had been remarkably silent and motionless. 20 minutes in, she had rose to select a book from his veritable library and had spent around one hour reading it. From time to time, he would feel her eyes on him, but other than that, once finished with her book, she had gazed thoughtfully at the wall in front of her.

Now, the lady tenderly ran her fingers over the strands and her instrument responded, bringing forth a haunting lullaby that held strains of gentleness and loss and Law was spellbound. He stared at her, unable to tear his eyes away, even as his muscles, tense and taunt with the hours of tension, relaxed slowly. He was not aware when his eyes drifted half closed.

Tsukiyo gazed distantly at her instrument, but he was not altogether sure she was seeing it. Her deep blue eyes were far, far away and his fascination with her shifted a little. Deepened a little. Who, he wondered through the haze in his mind, was Tsukuyomi?

Her melody was nostalgic...unforgettable...indescribable. It quickened and slowed, crept into his mind, and wrapped around him like a warm blanket. Like the waves of the shore, her rhythm calmed, soothed, became the beat of his heart.

Finally, her fingers stopped their dance and her song came to an end. Law's eyes opened entirely and he straightened up as if awakening from a dream.

Tsukiyo looked up and her eyes focused on him like a camera's lens shifting from out of focus to startling clarity. "Law-san." Her voice was dreamy, almost as if she had been sleeping too. "Apologies. Did I disturb you?"

Law peered calculatingly at her. _Lord_. He had been utterly out of it. If she could use her music as a weapon... "Don't worry about it. What is it that you were...playing?"

"Lyre. I'm playing a lyre." She answered softly. He blinked. Putting aside the question of where she had gotten it from, her answer told him next to nothing. From what he knew, the lyre was an ancient instrument that originated in the North Blue. Few people knew how to make it nowadays and even fewer could buy one for it was a very expensive instrument.

How did she know how to play it? Where had she gotten it from? How the hell had she entranced him like that?!

Law closed his eyes briefly and thrust aside all his questions. They weren't important right now. Teion, Ebi, and Kaiso were running out of time. Both Ebi and Kaiso had reached the third stage and had had to be restrained. He needed to hurry.

Resolutely, he spun back around to face his desk. "Do whatever you like."

He went back to trying to figure out what the final antidote had to be and despite his resolve, found himself focusing intently on the sounds behind him. Law waited, unintentionally rigid.

At first she was silent, but then, a sweet, enchanting song filled the air and he went limp.

The Surgeon of Death continued to try and save the lives of his nakama and in the background, the music of the Dark Sorceress continued to weave and swell. The air was filled with the tension of the Heart Pirates and the sand in the hourglass for the infected fell relentlessly. Still. The two were strangely at ease.

* * *

_Next time:_

_"You are an incredible man, Trafalgar Law." Tsukiyo whispered into the inches that separated them, her dark eyes boring into his own._

_He managed to smirk, despite the current inability of his mind to move his body. "Flattery now, Tsukiyo-ya? I didn't know you thought so highly of me."_

* * *

**Review! Please? With a cherry on top? XD**

**Hmm. I kinda need a beta right now cause all my current ones are tied. Anyone interested? It doesn't have to be any one story that you're content to look over! Please PM or message me if you're interested!**

**Question: What do you guys think of Tsukuyomi? Suggestions anyone?**


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